Sudden notice that Exeter Hospital is terminating its paramedic program has local fire chiefs scrambling.
"It's like them bringing in the emergency room to your door. They can stabilize them. We transport them and get them to the hospital alive," Epping Fire Chief Mark Proulx told WMUR.
The 30-year relationship will come to an end in nine days.
Hospital officials cite its ongoing effort to tackle rising costs, changing patient trends and a challenging reimbursement environment.
Firefighters say they wished they'd had more notice. For now, they will rely on mutual aid from departments with full-time paramedics until they can adjust their budgets.
"I'll be honest, at first it was such a shock, none of us actually believed that it was real," said Chief Ed Warren of the East Kingston Fire Department.
Executive Councilor Janet Stevens has called on the Department of Justice to review the acquisition agreement by Beth Israel Lahey Health. She says the state would never have allowed the acquisition if it knew the program would be terminated.
"It is absolutely unacceptable, unconscionable, and it is a stressor to the entire first responder community," Stevens said.
