Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. V B reeanna Zoidis shuttles between jobs in Biddeford and Kennebunk as a paramedic and fi refi ghter and teaches cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the side. "For a lot of us in the fi eld, we work two or three jobs, some even crazy enough to work four," says the 26-year-old alumna of Southern Maine Community College's fi re- science program. As Maine's population and its health care workforce age, emergency medical services will need more workers like Zoidis, not only paramedics but also emergency medical technicians (EMTs), including volunteers in rural areas and smaller towns and cities. P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Rescue mission Recruiting emergency medical workers revs up in Maine B y R e n e e C o r d e s F O C U S All states require EMTs and paramedics to be licensed. Requirements and licensing information for Maine can be found at www.maine.gov/ems What EMTs and paramedics do Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics care for the sick or injured in emergency medical settings. A basic EMT cares for patients at the scene of an incident and in the ambulance en route to the hospital, and has the skills to assess a patient's condition and to manage respiratory, cardiac and trauma emergencies. An advanced EMT is trained in more advanced procedures, such as administering intravenous fluids and some medications. Paramedics, besides doing what EMTs do, can give medications orally and intravenously, interpret electrocardiograms, which monitor heart function, and use other monitors and complex equipment. S O U R C E : Occupational Outlook Hand- book, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics M A R C H 5 , 2 0 1 8 20 Butch Russell is CEO of Scarborough-based North East Mobile Health Services, Maine's largest EMS provider.

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