The Boothbay Region Ambulance Service’s Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) now also make non-emergency house calls on the Boothbay peninsula. When our two crews of EMTs are standing by waiting for a real emergency, they can now make house calls on the Boothbay peninsula to patients in Southport, Boothbay Harbor, East Boothbay and Boothbay.

This is a great way to benefit from your tax dollars at work. We support the BRAS with our taxes and our personal contributions, so we’ll have 24/7 emergency service. The BRAS wants to give more back to our community by helping us all stay healthier. Your physician or other caregiver will arrange these preventative care services for you. Don’t call 911 for non-emergency services.

Help You Manage your Chronic Disease: If you suffer from a chronic disease like diabetes, congestive heart failure, or COPD/Asthma, our EMTs can visit you in your home to check on your condition.

Speed your Recovery: If you are recovering from surgery or an illness at home and need a quick check up, our EMTs can visit you in your home to check on your condition.

Reduce ER Visits: If you, or a family member goes to the urgent care center or to an emergency department frequently, your doctor can prescribe preventative care visits from your local EMT.

What services will BRAS offer?

Physical health assessment

Vital signs: (blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, oxygen saturation, weight)

Wound assessment

Medication compliance and reconciliation (make sure you’re taking the correct pills!)

Phlebotomy/INR (draw blood for simple blood tests and coagulation testing)

Glucose testing

Flu vaccine

Home safety assessment

How do I get these services?

You’ll need a referral from your physician or care transition nurse to Miles & St. Andrews Home Health & Hospice. If you are eligible for Home Health services, Home Health will arrange to visit you and perform the skilled nursing services you need. If you don’t qualify for Home Health services (you don’t have skilled nursing needs), they will arrange for your care through either the BRAS Community Paramedicine program, or through the Boothbay Region District Nurse, which is also a community-supported service, paid for by your tax dollars and contributions. If your doctor is concerned about your welfare, or you need to have a safety check or to have blood drawn and can’t easily get out of your house, your physician can ask the BRAS Community Paramedicine providers to visit you in your home and report back.

What if I don’t have a local doctor who will refer me? You can call Dr. Nancy Oliphant at 207-633-1075 for an office visit, or a house call, and a referral, or you can call Lincoln Medical Partners 207-633-7820. Either one will need to assess you first and then refer you to this program for ongoing follow up visits. All referrals for the BRAS Community Paramedicine program are made through Home Health. You can also call Callie Aldrich, the District Nurse (207-633-5533) for a one-time home visit/assessment. She will also need to refer you to a physician in order to continue treating you.

Which service provider will come to my home? When do I get a Home Health Nurse, or the District Nurse, or the BRAS Community Paramedics? Do I have to know which one to call? No. This Community Paramedicine program is coordinated by Home Health Services. Home Health already coordinates closely with the Boothbay Region District Nurse, Callie Aldrich. Now Home Health also refers patients directly to the BRAS Community Paramedicine program as well. Which service provider comes depends on your level of need:

If you need skilled nursing services in your home, then Home Health services will provide skilled nursing care in your home.

If you need a one-time follow up visit, or a health check, particularly if you need a visit quickly, you will probably be referred to BRAS Community Paramedicine providers. There is no charge for a visit from the BRAS Community Paramedicine EMTs.

If you have the need for regular visits by a nurse on an ongoing basis, the Boothbay Region District Nurse, Callie Aldrich, can arrange to visit you for $10/visit (or whatever you can afford). Callie has a patient load of about 50 patients at any time.

The BRAS Community Paramedicine providers are now the third pillar of our home health safety net, which means that Boothbay Region residents now have access to more in home health services. Now, with the BRAS Community Paramedicine program, there’s an expanded set of resources available to serve our community members.