LEWISTON, Maine — When in an emergency, you want help to arrive as soon as possible. As frontline workers themselves, Lewiston firefighters in the union said it has higher expectations for the service it's getting from its EMS provider United Ambulance Service, or UAS.
The city contracts with UAS paying it $360,000 per year. However, International Association of Fire Fighters local 785 President Rick Cailler said taxpayers are paying money for poor service.
Callier sent the city of Lewiston a letter in February seeking accountability and detailing issues the union believes should be fixed in UAS' operations to "provide a stable service," which he said they aren't currently fulfilling.
In the past 12 months, Cailler said UAS hasn't been able to respond to 168 calls for medical emergencies in Lewiston, which means out-of-town services face longer drive times to get to the emergency. In the last year, he said Auburn Fire responded to 117 calls and Lisbon Emergency responded 51 times when there were no UAS ambulances available.
"We're tired of seeing people suffering waiting for ambulances," Cailler said.
He said oftentimes, UAS prioritizes using its ambulances for patient transfers rather than staying within Lewiston. When there is an EMS call in Lewiston, it goes to the 911 dispatch center. However, the dispatch center calls UAS, relying on them to dispatch an ambulance, he said.
"They've held calls when doing more lucrative transfers," Cailler said. "I don't think it’s right holding calls, morally. It’s reprehensible for someone having a heart attack, and they’re not even bothering to dispatch an ambulance for 15 minutes."
Cailler said he believes the city should amend the contract with UAS, so the 911 dispatch center could assign their ambulances for calls coming in.
"I think if 911 did the dispatching, we’d have that accountability over the next year," he said.
Lewiston City Councilor Scott Harriman said UAS has been meeting response time requirements for the calls they are dispatching to.
"When you're in an emergency situation and you need emergency services, every minute probably feels like an hour. Not to downplay people’s concerns, but they have been meeting their requirements in the MOU," Harriman said.
While UAS's Executive Director Paul Gosselin and Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline were unavailable for interviews Tuesday, they both wrote statements in emails to NEWS CENTER Maine.
"We are the only ambulance service in Maine accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS), the gold standard that the ambulance industry considers essential for a provider of emergency medical services," Gosselin, in part, said.
Sheline also wrote saying he has received feedback from residents, and he also shares their concerns.
"I also understand that running an ambulance service has been increasingly difficult as costs have risen, and reimbursement rates have largely remained static. I am thankful for our caring and dedicated EMTs and look forward to a discussion with UAS about how to best address service concerns," Sheline said.