Arriving in 2026: More top-notch, in-depth EMS training, delivered locally
- Tammy L Wells
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
By Tammy Wells, media specialist, York County government
ALFRED, Maine – Delivering a baby in an ambulance may not be a frequent occurrence for most rescue departments in York County, but those in the industry say it seems to be happening more often than in the past. These days, York County – the second most populous county in Maine – sports one hospital birthing unit, at the MaineHealth hospital campus in Biddeford. The birthing unit in what is now called the MaineHealth Sanford facility closed a decade ago, and York Hospital’s unit shuttered two years ago.
Ensuring emergency medical professionals have top-notch in-depth training in childbirth is essential and will be among an array of EMS courses available at the new First Responder Regional Training Center, on track to open early in 2026. In all, the training center will offer programs for law enforcement including police, corrections and dispatching, and for firefighters and emergency medical providers.
In an interview focused on emergency medical services, EMS physician Kelly Meehan-Coussee, Goodwin’s Mills Fire Chief Matt Duross – who is departing the agency for a new role as Deputy Fire Chief in Saco – and County Fire Administrator Roger Hooper talked about the new center and avenues it opens for coordinated, regularly scheduled training for those already employed in the profession and for those just starting out.
“When we were planning the center, there was an increased emphasis on childbirth,” said Hooper, who is overseeing planning, equipment procurement, course offerings and a plethora of other details associated with opening a multi-discipline training center. “We’re planning to provide better training, more realistic training to new EMTs, as well as refresher training.”
These days, there are training sessions on essential EMS topics throughout the year, but by necessity, classes are held at various fire departments and other locations across the county. Some is sponsored by the county, some by local fire and rescue departments, which open the trainings to members from other departments when space allows. Some training is conducted at the York County government building, where space is limited. Those earning a paramedic certification may travel as far as Lewiston for required classes, while at times, those earning certifications as a basic EMT may need to go to Portland.
“To become an EMT, the first level of clinician, is a 6-7 credited hour college class,” said Meehan-Coussee. “We’ve tried to say ‘let’s do it here, and here,’ but we are continuing to see expectations of scope of what an EMT can do increasing.”
“I foresee a predictable schedule of regular, basic, advanced EMT and paramedic classes,” at the new training center, said Hooper. “One of our problems in recruiting is we don’t train locally, so if people can take classes close to where they live and work, it’s a win- win.
People can expect a more competent, consistent, connected EMS provider to be able to get quality training closer to home and work. And it will improve quality of life in York County.”
Some training conducted in cooperation with York County Community College are poised to continue at the new facility, said Hooper, including the entry level, 150-hour EMT course, the 200 hour Advanced EMT course, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, EMS Field Training Officer, and the EMS Field Training Evaluation Program. Other programs would be new, like an Advanced EMT to Paramedic Bridge course, an accelerated training course to take seasoned AEMTs to the paramedic level of care, along with EMS Management and Leadership courses and more.
While there are no current statistics, it is widely known that in Maine and elsewhere, EMS personnel, from basic EMTs to paramedics, are much in demand. On May 29 one employment recruiter showed more than 250 listings from York to Presque Isle for training EMTs and paramedics at fire and rescue departments, private ambulance companies, healthcare systems and walk in care facilities.
In York County, some EMS professionals who work full time for a municipal department also work per diem for another on their days off – there are not enough full-time personnel to go around.
Duross recalled when he was applying for jobs as a firefighter/EMS provider 20 years ago, openings were scarce at large city departments, and chiefs often wouldn’t consider anyone who had less than an advanced EMT certification, and some, he said, if you weren’t a paramedic. That meant smaller departments had a large pool of applicants from which to choose. Now, he said, there are 2-3 applicants per job.
“Most municipal departments won’t hire off the street, but I think we have to get there,” said Duross. “And I think this training center will provide the avenue.”
If that were to happen, the procedure could be similar to how Maine law enforcement officers are hired and trained: an applicant is hired by a department and if not already certified, is sent for training.
One critical step in the evolution of EMS training is to enough have field training sites where students can get required hands-on experience in a medical setting in a variety of disciplines, including obstetrics, respiratory therapy, and much more, all in an area of Maine where many people involved in studying various aspects of medicine: physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and others along with EMS – are all needing the field training time. An individual studying to be a paramedic, for example, needs 690 clinical hours for certification.
“We work really hard to ensure the future of healthcare by training, but we have to make sure what we can offer is true hands-on time,” said Meehan-Coussee.
Hooper noted there are conversations among a number of stakeholders to make sure that happens.
Meehan-Coussee pointed out that having qualified EMS providers is essential – and can save lives and shorten hospital stays for patients.
As for delivering babies, she said there’s a drive to increase education in obstetrics for EMS providers and for emergency departments that don’t have affiliated obstetric services on site – while Biddeford retains its birthing unit, in Sanford when baby is ready to be born, sometimes that happens in that city’s MaineHealth emergency department. And sometimes, when there’s no time, the little one is delivered by an EMT or a paramedic.
“It’s not frequent but it seems like the trend in increasing,” Duross said.
