LEWISTON – Twin Cities emergency 911 dispatchers are three years ahead of a state-mandated medical information requirement.

Emergency dispatchers across Maine must be able to talk callers through medical emergencies by Jan. 1, 2007, according to state requirements.

“They have a little flip chart and a list of questions” said Al Gervenack, director of state emergency service communication. “Based on an interrogation by the call-taker, we can determine the concern.”

Then, they tell the caller what to do until the ambulance arrives.

Andy D’Eramo, director of Lewiston-Auburn 911, said his staff has done that since 2003.

“Once an ambulance is dispatched, we find out what’s wrong,” he said. “If it’s a heart attack, we might ask them to sit down and try to relax. If it’s a puncture wound, they’d be told to put pressure on it with a clean cloth.”

Gervenack said instructions given for calls dealing with shortness of breath are the most common by emergency dispatchers statewide.

“The other is births,” he said. “We get a couple of those every year, where we need to talk somebody along while they wait.”

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