Federal COVID-19 Ambulance Teams Coming to Eight Maine Hospitals

President Joe Biden says 500 million free rapid tests will be coming to Americans. Speaking today, Dec. 21.

Biden also announced that FEMA will deploy hundreds of ambulances and EMS crews to Maine.

According to Maine.gov:

The Federal teams will assist Maine emergency medical services (EMS) crews with non-emergency transportation of patients among facilities to match patients with open beds and ensure they are treated in the facility that best meets their health care needs.

The ambulance teams are among a slate of initiatives President Biden announced today to help states confront the COVID-19 Omicron variant. The Mills Administration is awaiting further details from the Federal government about the ambulance teams, including when they are estimated to arrive in Maine, along with details about the other initiatives announced by the President today to support hospitals and to increase access to COVID-19 testing and vaccination.

While the Delta variant continues to drive the current sustained surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Maine and the rest of New England, the more transmissible Omicron variant is now the dominant variant in new infections across the U.S., according to the U.S. CDC.

The following hospitals will host the Federal teams, which can be deployed to additional facilities throughout the state as needed:

Maine Medical Center, Portland
Southern Maine Health Care, Biddeford
Franklin Memorial Hospital, Farmington
Mid Coast Hospital, Brunswick
Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston
MaineGeneral Medical Center, Augusta
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor
St. Joseph Hospital, Bangor

Latest on COVID-19 in Maine

President Biden says he’s sending extra ambulances to Maine “because COVID is spreading so rapidly to help transport patients.” >https://t.co/DoGrfV6JSp pic.twitter.com/Vb4CX7OsVi

— CBS 13 News (@WGME) December 21, 2021