New Collaborative Ambulance Service to Begin in Presque Isle

A new era in ambulance service in the Star City will officially begin on Monday, August 11th, when Crown Emergency Care and the City of Presque Isle launch operations under a collaborative model approved by the Presque Isle City Council and TAMC Board of Trustees earlier this Spring. The tentative agreement was recently ratified by the unionized employees of Crown Emergency Care.

Under the new model, the Presque Isle Fire Department will provide a driver for Crown Emergency Care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and house a Crown ambulance and a paramedic at the fire station.  That arrangement will begin this coming Monday when a Crown Emergency Care vehicle and paramedic will be on-site at the Fire Station.

The collaborative arrangement between the City of Presque Isle and Crown Emergency Care, a division of TAMC, follows several months of discussion and consideration of various proposals and models for ambulance coverage for the Star City.  TAMC and City officials, as well as Presque Isle Fire Department and Crown Emergency Care leaders, worked collaboratively to craft a plan that would be beneficial to both parties and ensure the community retained the high level service currently provided.

Under the agreement, the combined crew of a member of the City’s professional firefighting team and a Crown Emergency Care paramedic will be the first to respond to a call in the Star City. The City/Crown Emergency Care crew will be responsible for second call in the communities of Washburn, Easton, Mapleton, Chapman, and Castle Hill.  The Crown Emergency Care Presque Isle crew based at TAMC would continue to be the first crew called out in these surrounding communities.

Crown Emergency Care will continue its restructuring process to assure quicker response to 911 emergencies and inter-facility transfer requests. During fire calls in Presque Isle, PIFD will call in a volunteer firefighter crew to assure continued EMS and fire coverage in the city, and Crown staff will continue to respond to fire calls to provide medical care to firefighters if needed.