Boothbay Region Ambulance Service held a dedication ceremony on Saturday, May 27 for its new facility. The service has been operating out of the building since February. The dedication was held during a four-hour open house.

BRAS Manager Scott Lash and Board President Robbie Ham shared some words of appreciation for the matching funds donated by Paul and Giselaine Coulombe. The Coulombes could not be at the dedication as planned, but were expected sometime in the afternoon. In a post-dedication interview, Lash said the Coulombes were not able to make it, adding, “We look forward to seeing them soon so they can see what they’ve done to help us.”

Ham, who prefers to be behind the scenes, began his brief speech for the dedication by thanking the couple for their monetary contribution.

“The Coulombes’ significant contribution to build this building for us is why we’re here. It’s brought us from a building we did ourselves 13 years ago fundraising money and with a limited budget, to where we are now. The new building is a huge improvement for us and everyone can see this, “ Ham said.

BRAS quickly outgrew that former building, when as Ham noted, “The service changed from more of an at home-based volunteer service to a full-time staffed service.”

Ham also thanked Knickerbocker Group for a wonderful job building the new facility. “It’s been quite a process for us internally,” Ham said. “Knickerbocker Group is a great organization to work with. It’s been quite a challenge for Knickerbocker to build it and for us to move this 24/7 operation from one building to another seamlessly; and I think that it went very well.”

BRAS staff who, when not on call, spent their time packing, cleaning and moving, also received kudos from Ham. 

“From here on out we have a building that will stand the test of time. The technology has been upgraded and that is something that was very much needed and is very appreciated.”

Lash introduced board members Bruce Johnson, Mike Ciccarelli and Dr. Paul Taylor. Lash also thanked fundraising chair Brenda Blackman for helping the organization “accomplish an awful lot this year.” After the dedication, Blackman described the new building as “gorgeous and amazing. Everyone in the community was very generous,” she said. “I was pleased and proud to have been asked to be chair for a campaign that went very smoothly. It’s (BRAS) very special; something very near and dear to everyone’s heart.”

The new building has a light and airy feel. It is energy-efficient with an upgraded heating system, motion detecting LED lighting, larger staff quarters that comfortably accommodate four on call EMT/EMS personnel, a conference room, simulation room (to be outfitted to resemble the inside of an ambulance for training), and upgraded technology and radio equipment. The new bay area could accommodate up to six ambulances.

Advanced EMT Brandi McFetridge is very happy with the new building. “There’s more room to move around in the living quarters that are further away from the administration areas.”

Paramedic Aurel Marks said it isn’t just the distance between the administrative and living quarters that makes the difference, it’s the acoustics that help level out the noise.

“There is also better ventilation in the bays,” said Marks, “and we’re not inhaling exhaust anymore. And – the bays are heated. Overall this building is a better construction.”

Advanced EMT Cathy Rumminger has been with BRAS for 16 years. She said the larger bays give the staff room to move around and to clean and disinfect the ambulances. Cleaning has been made easier in the new bays due to better drainage as the floors of the former BRAS building were not sloped properly. Rumminger said, “We had to squeegee the water out of the bays.”

There’s also plenty of storage space in the rear of the bays – something sorely lacking in the former building. Prior to the move, supplies were stored in the house in front of the BRAS building and sometimes in the garage as well.

“We had to store supplies in the house and sometimes the garage bay. Now we have everything under one roof,” Rumminger said.

BRAS is always working to keep things innovative to better serve the Boothbay region. Said Lash, “We’ve been using telemedicine (using iPads in the ambulances to communicate with a hospital while working on a patient en route) and we transmit EKGs via secure email.”

BRAS will be the first ambulance service in the state to use “visualized airways” — a new way to insert breathing tubes through the use of an attached camera screen — as part of a pilot program. Lash said they are just waiting for approval, but that BRAS has already begun training.

The highly skilled medical personnel answer approximately 1,800 calls a year – so far. Some of those calls are related to accidents. Rick Tarr, a traffic safety specialist with Mid Coast Emergency Medical Services, brought a driving simulator to the dedication/open house. Seated behind a steering wheel, drivers operate their motor vehicles through back roads, highways and residential areas during the free drive. There are two scenarios participants can choose from — impaired driving (due to some type of substance) and/or distracted driving (texting, talking on the phone, etc.).

“If you want to see how dangerous using your phone is when texting and driving — come on over and try it,” Tarr told the group after the dedication. “I can send text messages to your own phone while you are negotiating your way home on the simulator … most people don’t make it.”

But it isn’t the number of accidents that will drive up the number of calls answered by the BRAS, according to Rumminger. She cited the Midcoast’s high percentage of elderly people as a factor in call volume. “The number of calls we answer can only go up.”