ORONO – The University of Maine’s Voluntary Ambulance Corps has received an upgraded competency rating from a consortium of emergency care and health organizations in Maine, recognizing the 30-year-old service for its advancement.

The Maine Center for Disease Control’s Cardiovascular Health Program and Maine Emergency Medical Services’ “Maine HeartSafe Communities” upgraded the UMaine ambulance corps from a “basic” to “silver” rating as a result of its continued expansion and improvement of services.

Dennis Russell, paramedic and chief of service for UVAC, said the academic-year service offers emergency medical assistance comparable with many municipal services in Maine. The service is run primarily by student volunteers trained as emergency medical technicians under the guidance of a small professional staff at Cutler Health Center.

“We have the same level of services as many ambulance services in the state,” said Russell. “We have the same license level as any municipal ambulance services in the state.”

With some 24 EMTs and a fully equipped ambulance available 24 hours a day on campus during the academic year, the service was elevated in status because of two essential program advancements that can improve survival rates for stroke and heart-related emergencies.

Within the last two years, UM’s Public Safety dispatchers have been trained as emergency medical dispatchers, enabling them to advise callers on basic emergency care techniques while an ambulance is en route. Also, because of UVAC’s mutual aid relationship with Orono and Old Town fire departments and Capital Ambulance in Bangor, a paramedic, in addition to UVAC EMTs, is dispatched to all priority medical emergencies.

Many of UVAC’s member volunteers come to the service to be trained and sometimes they bring previous training. Students have a variety of academic majors, from English to engineering; they take EMT training in addition to their academic workload.

“It’s professional development for the students, but it’s also an emergency rescue service,” said Russell. “There are very few colleges or universities in the nation that have an Advance Life Support ambulance service.”

UVAC members can obtain advance training and certifications, allowing them to administer advanced life support measures, including controlled drugs and IVs and advanced airway management techniques. The UVAC ambulance has a cardiac monitor with an automated external defibrillator aboard.

“We’re a teaching service,” Russell said. “A lot of students who are members later go on to medical school, nursing or pursue a career in pre-hospital emergency medicine.”

Serving the university community of more than 14,000 people, UVAC received 574 calls last year, up from 453 the prior year and far more than the 367 it received in 2004, according to Russell. Calls included first response to medical emergencies, patient transports, standby medical coverage on and off campus, fire alarms and special events on campus.

Danielle Louder, a cardiovascular health specialist with the Maine CDC’s Cardiovascular Health Program in Augusta, said the UMaine ambulance service had done an excellent job of upgrading its levels of service, in addition to promoting public awareness of the signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest, heart attacks and stroke.

“I think they offer the most CPR classes of any local EMS service in the state,” she said. “It’s amazing.”

Russell said UVAC trains approximately 400 people a year. CPR has changed in the last few years and now includes training on AEDs, which are available at seven locations around campus. Anyone who is trained and certified to use the devices may do so in an emergency.

The Maine HeartSafe Communities program, which also includes participation from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, began recruiting emergency medical service providers into the program in 2005. HeartSafe Communities participants track requirements for providing basic, silver, gold or platinum levels of emergency services and note advancements.

Russell said reaching the gold level may take time for UMaine’s ambulance corps, since it requires an expensive piece of heart monitoring equipment, an electrocardiogram. But he’s gratified with the silver level recognition, and praises Janet Waldron, vice president for finance and administration, and Robin Toderian, assistant vice president of auxiliary services, for their continuing support of UVAC.