RuralHealthcareCrisis_008.JPG
JACKMAN, MAINE- JULY 3, 2021
Damian Brockway, a paramedic and community health practitioner with Northeast Ambulance, sutures the finger of Rick Bridges as Andrea Groft, left, the per diem physician assistant, watches at the Penobscot County Health Clinic in Jackman on Saturday, July 3, 2021. In the current model, the clinic is staffed with per diem physician assistants which expands the scope of practice available at the clinic. This model is expensive and difficult to staff. In order to address the staffing difficulties, Dr. Busko created a training tract that would take the paramedic out of the ambulance setting and bring them into the clinic setting. Today, the P.A. is on staff and can extend the scope of practice of Brockway. But when the program goes live the P.A. will be replaced with a doctor at a regional hospital using telemedicine. The scope of practice will be extended via telemedicine visit with a doctor and the paramedic will perform whatever medical procedure is required. (Staff Photo by Michael G. Seamans/Staff Photographer)