BANGOR – Staffing shortages at Eastern Maine Medical Center aren’t unlike those seen elsewhere, and they shouldn’t be a cause for panic, the hospital’s chief of emergency medicine said Wednesday.

Dr. Norman Dinerman spoke at a news conference called to address allegations by a group of doctors that inadequate staffing to treat trauma cases has created an unsafe situation at Maine’s second-largest hospital.

Dinerman was flanked by more than 20 doctors, nurses and a few members of the public on a patio outside the hospital. The parents of a boy who recently was injured by a chain saw and transported from Greenville to the hospital by a LifeFlight helicopter, spoke briefly, praising hospital staff and its emergency service.

During the press conference and afterward, Dinerman said he would characterize the problems differently from the doctors who’ve criticized the administration, but he stopped short of saying their complaints were unfounded.

He conceded there are shortages in some specialty medical areas, but he said they are similar to those seen at other hospitals in Maine.

“We will meet those challenges just as we have for the last 110 years,” Dinerman said.

He noted the hospital serves one-third of Maine’s population spread over two-thirds of its land. “These patients depend on us.”

When asked about delays for surgery, he said, “We have periodic delays. … We redeploy resources. That happens all the time.”

He said, “There’s no question that this is a time of tremendous stress right now at this institution and other institutions throughout the state.”

On Tuesday, 31 doctors representing every medical specialty and general practice in Bangor met to draft a petition aimed at getting hospital trustees to change how the institution operates. They said the administration had turned a cold shoulder to their requests for help in what they said is a dire situation for trauma care at EMMC.

Absent from the press conference was Norman Ledwin, CEO of Eastern Maine Healthcare. The doctors have complained that Ledwin’s agenda for the region’s largest health care entity isn’t designed in the primary interest of patients. Some, such as Dr. Richard Smith, an anesthesiologist and former president of the medical staff, are calling for Ledwin’s resignation.

In an interview after the press conference, Dinerman said he believes Ledwin will improve communication between the administration and doctors. He said he has faith in Ledwin, but he said he also has faith in the doctors who are complaining.

“I think there are issues that require recruitment just as folks are talking about,” Dinerman said.

He also said that he knows the few anesthesiologists in the area are stretched thin.

“These folks are extremely exhausted,” he said. “I could not agree more that if you’re going to have a responsibility for trauma which arises out of the unique geography and resources of this hospital that you have to have infrastructure.”

In the press conference and the subsequent interview, Dinerman explained that he believes everyone at EMMC is passionate about how best to treat patients and that there are just different visions about how to get there.

He said recruitment efforts have brought many fine doctors and anesthesiologists to Bangor and that current shortages are just “part of the ebb and flow of a health care system.”