Federal ambulance crews arrive to help Maine hospitals handle surge

Maine hospitals straining to care for COVID-19 patients got help Tuesday from the Biden administration as Federal Emergency Management Agency ambulance crews arrived to transport patients and free up capacity.

The FEMA teams were expected Tuesday, and had already started working at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, said John Porter, spokesman for MaineHealth, the parent organization of Maine Medical Center in Portland and seven other Maine hospitals.

Porter said the teams would help transport patients from one hospital to another or to rehabilitation centers so hospitals can more quickly make room for new patients who need care.

“Patient transports are an important piece of the puzzle in terms of maximizing our capacity,” Porter said.

A FEMA ambulance crew also arrived Tuesday at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta, News Center Maine reported Tuesday.

Read more: https://www.pressherald.com/2021/12/28/maine-records-1423-new-cases-of-covid-19-in-first-report-since-dec-23/