Lebanon Fire and EMS gets medical director

LEBANON - For the first time in Lebanon history, its EMS team will be guided by a medical director.

Dr. Scott Hamilton, an emergency medical doctor affiliated with Southern Maine Health Care in Sanford, has agreed to assist with Lebanon Fire and EMS rescue services, the department announced on its Facebook page today.

The medical director will oversee run reports and customize medical training based on those reports to enhance the quality of the care given by Lebanon first responders, according to the post.

A medical director is seen as a key development for rescue services that might convert to using determinant codes in responding to medical emergencies, according to Kennebunk Fire Rescue Chief Jeffrey Rowe, who also sits on the state's Emergency Medical Services Board.

In a story published by The Lebanon Voice earlier this month, Rowe said the biggest expense for a department converting to the use of determinant codes might be having to secure the services of a medical services director appointed once a year to help update and review the codes.

That medical services director would have to be a physician, Rowe said.

"There's no money behind that," Rowe said. "That would be a department expense. That would basically be an unfunded mandate if the state forced it on us."

He added that some departments who already use determinant codes have gotten doctors to volunteer their time, but it's not clear from today's post if that is the case here.

Lebanon Fire and EMS was not immediately available for comment.

To read the full article in which The Lebanon Voice spoke with Rowe, click here.