By Jamie L. Costa
The Eagle-Tribune
PLAISTOW, N.H. 鈥� A regional Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedic intercept program launched by a local fire chief last month has brought better service and quicker response times to participating towns.
The service was previously provided by Exeter Hospital, which disbanded the program March 20 and gifted the Plaistow Fire Department with two fully equipped medical vans and funding to continue operations.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to provide a much faster response time which puts that paramedic in front of that patient so much faster and improves patient care and patient outcomes,鈥� said Plaistow Fire Chief Chris Knutsen. 鈥淢oving the resources closer to the call volume has been the biggest improvement.鈥�
Prior to taking over the intercept program, emergency medical calls were filtered through multiple dispatch centers, leading to confusion around availability and longer response times. Now, calls are sent directly to the Plaistow Fire Department鈥檚 dispatch center.
鈥淚t was a significant safety concern and could create confusion if they鈥檙e available for a call or not,鈥� Knutsen said. 鈥淐leaning up the dispatch side has significantly improved the overall safety of our crew and overall efficiency of the program.鈥�
Most requests for service come from Rockingham dispatch, which automatically calls for aid when the incident requires care that standard EMTs can鈥檛 provide.
In the last month, the intercept program, which dispatches paramedics to traumatic incidents and respiratory and cardiac emergencies, responded to 278 calls, Knutsen said. The intercept vehicle stationed in Plaistow responded to 95 calls while the vehicle docked in Brentwood responded to 183.
The majority of calls were medical-related and included unconscious persons with no pulse and significant shortness of breath or chest pain. Each day, the intercept program responds to an average of eight to nine calls, Knutsen said.
Because Brentwood is staffed with two paramedics and fields the bulk of the calls, the crew was forced to split up more than 20 times this month when multiple calls came in. As the year goes on, the number of splits will help justify the department鈥檚 request for an additional vehicle and staffing next year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not trying to take over anybody鈥檚 town but if there is something we can do with this service to help them, we would most definitely entertain a conversation on picking up more towns, growth and the cost of adding more vehicles,鈥� Knutsen said.
Right now, Brentwood and Plaistow are each serving nine towns, with overlapping service in towns like Kingston and Newton. Knutsen didn鈥檛 say where another vehicle could be stationed.
As part of the town contracts with the Plaistow intercept program, EMT training opportunities will become available in the coming months at no cost to the other towns. These opportunities were not available to contracting towns with Exeter Hospital or Pridestar Trinity EMS.
The trainings will include 240 hours of clinical education to participating fire departments on advanced medical life support, reporting software, prehospital life support and tactical emergency combat care. The first trainings are expected to roll out in the coming weeks and months.
鈥淭owns haven鈥檛 had anything bad to say, they are extremely happy with what they鈥檙e seeing thus far,鈥� Knutsen said.
漏 2025 The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.).
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