EMERGENCY
MEDICAL SERVICES
 24
Hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year
Emergency care and transportation of injured
and ill persons; Transfer of patients from RFGH
to other facilities all over Maine.
When Should You Go to the ED?
The American College of Emergency Physicians recommends
that anyone experiencing the following symptoms
be brought to an ED immediately:
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure
lasting two minutes or more
• Fainting, sudden dizziness, weakness
• Changes in vision
• Difficulty speaking
• Confusion or changes in mental status,
unusual behavior, difficulty waking
• Any sudden or severe pain
• Uncontrolled bleeding
• Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea
• Coughing or vomiting blood
• Suicidal or homicidal feelings
• Unusual abdominal pain
Because of its rural location, the RFGH Emergency
Department plays a very important role in the
community. The ED is staffed 24-hours a day and
can respond to all types of emergencies.
In addition, RFGH and LifeFlight have a helicopter
landing pad that enables emergency medical personnel
to more effectively care for critically ill and
injured patients in the Somerset County area.
Patients can quickly be transferred from RFGH
to specialty centers in Maine and Boston, where
they can receive the care required in advanced
and traumatic illnesses and injuries.
• State-of-the-art central
monitoring system. This has the ability to
transmit to the central station from the bedside.
Monitors heart rhythms and acquires 12-lead
EKG's.
• New transport ventilator, so that we
can better care for patients who are unable
to breathe on their own.
• A variety of specialty equipment to
help perform rescue and extrication tasks.
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 We
staff two ambulances around the clock, with the
capability of staffing a third if needed. We are
licensed at the paramedic level, which means that
we guarantee a paramedic on every emergency call.
RFEMS responds to approximately 3,000 calls per
year, covering the towns of Skowhegan, Norridgewock,
Mercer, Canaan, Cornville, Athens, Brighton and
Solon. We provide paramedic-level assistance to
the ambulance services that cover the greater
Bingham area and Harmony. Our staff consists of
26 professionals, most of who live in the community.
Our ambulances are very much like mini emergency
rooms. The assessments we provide, and the treatments
we render, are much like what a patient might
receive in the first 20 - 30 minutes that they
are in the emergency room. This is especially
true for calls that involve heart problems. Patients
can get initial treatment for their chest pain
right in their own homes, and that treatment is
continued during the transport to the hospital.
We carry an array of medications used to treat
cardiac problems. Because we have a paramedic
on every emergency call, we can administer pain-management
medications, anti-nausea medication, and medication
to manage allergic reactions and respiratory emergencies.
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