PARIS – When someone calls 911 on behalf of someone else having a medical problem, they want to do something to help while the ambulances are on their way.

They sometimes just don’t know what.

Oxford County dispatchers have had to hurry up and get trained to meet a new state regulation that would help the callers.

Effective Jan. 1, all public safety answering point personnel, which includes all dispatch centers, must be certified in emergency medical dispatch protocols, said James P. Miclon, director of the Oxford County Regional Communications Center.

If there is a medical emergency, while ambulance crews are en route, a dispatcher trained in EMD protocols can stay on the line with the caller, asking questions and giving instructions, depending on the person’s conditions.

They may ask if the person is breathing, if they can talk or stand up.

The may instruct the caller to perform CPR or give mouth to mouth.

There are easy-to-navigate instructions at each dispatching station to aid the person giving instructions.

While sending help, dispatchers will use the codes Alpha, Charlie and Delta to communicate the severity of the situation to the officials, who use this information to decide whether to proceed with lights and sirens.

Drexell White, state EMD coordinator, said EMD has had a presence in Maine “for a number of years.” Before this year’s mandate, about 60 percent of the dispatchers were certified, he said.

Miclon appointed Terri L. Littlehale to oversee the process. Littlehale, a RCC dispatcher and shift supervisor, has an emergency services background.

Littlehale will also be a liaison to the state during the process of meeting the new requirements.

While the training will be beneficial to the dispatchers, it has created a “scheduling nightmare,” Miclon said. The RCC’s 16 employees will all be trained by the end of next week.

The mandate was announced in September, giving the department four months to train everyone. The state pays for the training, but doesn’t pay for transportation and man-hours.

“Everyone is under the gun with the statute,” White said. “It has been a fairly tight timeline.”