Blue Hill Memorial Hospital will host a light breakfast for area emergency responders at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, March 19. Sandra Smallidge, RN, manages the hospital’s Emergency Department and will facilitate the meeting. Smallidge serves as the local quality assurance contact for the Northeast Emergency Medical Service (EMS).
Responders invited to the meeting in Blue Hill will represent many communities, including Blue Hill, Brooksville, Bucksport, Brooklin, Castine, Deer Isle, Isle Au Haut, Penobscot, Sedgwick, Stonington, and Surry. “We are happy to have both volunteers and paid staff at this type of meeting,” says Smallidge. “We all want the same thing – good outcomes for our patients.”
The agenda for the March meeting will include results from several audits conducted earlier this year. “This first round of audit reports will help get us accustomed to reviewing, analyzing, and responding to this data,” explains Smallidge. “I also anticipate that the reports will drive home an awareness of the value of complete documentation. All of us are dedicated to what we do – saving lives. We just need to make sure that we are documenting the steps that we take with all of our patients to ensure the best possible care, even under challenging circumstances.”
Joe Babbitt, MD, serves as a hospitalist and director of Blue Hill Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department. He will join Smallidge and the responders for the meeting. Both hope that responders will suggest topics for educational sessions and help set dates for quarterly meetings in the future. “In a rural area like the Blue Hill Peninsula, health care partnerships are essential,” explains Babbitt. “We partner with many organizations, including emergency responders, home healthcare agencies, and organizations committed to community health. Resources are becoming more limited, which only increases the importance of working together closely to meet local needs.”
Anyone with questions or concerns about the meeting should call Smallidge at 374-3477.
Northeast EMS (NEEMS) is the emergency medical services council serving Penobscot, Hancock, Piscataquis, and Washington counties. The council covers nearly 13,000 square miles.
Blue Hill Memorial’s Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Department had 6400 patient visits last year, with most patients being seen by a provider in 20 minutes or less.