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Press Release

Winhall Police & Rescue Deptartment Provides Paramedic Service

Due to the rural setting of Winhall and Stratton, access to high level emergency medical care in a timely manner has always been an obstacle. The Town of Winhall, Vermont has helped overcome that obstacle by instituting a paramedic level first responder program through its Police and Rescue Department.

Winhall Police and Rescue has recently upgraded their service to include paramedics, the highest possible level of pre-hospital medical service. Winhall currently has two volunteer paramedics that are members of our volunteer rescue squad. Winhall Police & Rescue expects one of its per-diem officers to obtain his paramedic licensing within the coming year. According to Winhall Police & Rescue’s EMS Coordinator, Officer Greg Gould, the project to upgrade to the paramedic level took approximately two years. During that time our department worked on meeting all the state requirements needed to obtain a paramedic level of service. An example of the equipment required to perform at that level include a twelve lead heart monitor, which can give critical insight as to exactly what the malfunction is during a cardiac emergency. Additionally, the paramedics can also perform some advanced maneuvers with the twelve lead monitor like pacing a patient’s heart. There is a long list of medications that paramedics are trained and licensed to administer. For example, paramedics can administer medication that will stop an active seizure, they can provide more advanced medications for cardiac patients and they can also administer pain control for patients that require it.

The Winhall Police Department requires that all of its full time police officers acquire and maintain at a minimum, EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certification. The average response time for Winhall Police & Rescue to a medical emergency within Winhall and the Stratton Mountain Community is approximately 6 minutes. The Winhall Police & Rescue Department also includes a volunteer division which currently has eight volunteer EMTs. The volunteers live nearby and respond to medical emergencies. Gould describes these volunteers as very high quality medical providers whose service and enthusiasm are invaluable to the Town of Winhall and Stratton Mountain area. Winhall Police and Rescue continues to work closely with the Londonderry, Manchester and Stratton Mountain ambulance services. These highly trained and skilled ambulance service professionals continue to provide a high level of pre-hospital patient care from the original scene to the hospital.

Winhall Police & Rescue is now one of only three licensed paramedic level first response squads in the State of Vermont. In 2002 the Winhall Police Department became the one of a handful of police departments in the country to operate a dual service department by providing both police and ems services. Winhall Police & Rescue has taken some very innovative steps to bring the highest quality medical care in a timely manner to the residents of Winhall and Stratton Mountain. Winhall Police & Rescue Chief Jeffery Whitesell said he views EMS as an important role in our service to the community!