The Maine EMS for Children Program is happy to share that we have sent out the Stork Awards for the first half of 2021. A stork award is given to first responders who actively participate in the out-of-hospital delivery of a newborn. This may be done by a dispatcher who providers instructions to to a caller, the vehicle operator who transports the patients to the hospital, a police officer who arrives first and provides medical care, or the EMS clinicians who directly deliver the baby.
From January through June of 2021, 7 incidents statewide qualified for the Stork Award. Recipients of the stork pin (and bragging rights!) include:
6 Emergency Medical Dispatchers
15 Licensed EMS providers (5 EMTs, 2 AEMTs, 8 Paramedics)
1 Emergency Vehicle Operator
and included 3 regional communication centers and 4 EMS services. Amazingly, the Portland Regional Communication Center has had 3 deliveries over the phone this year (2 by the same dispatcher!).
Learn more about the Stork Program on the Maine EMSC webpage, and congrats to all those who performed excellent EMS care and improved the health of the pediatric population in Maine.