Emergency Medical Services

  Waterville Valley's ambulance is staffed with a duty crew 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. Our care providers are dedicated professionals and hold national certifications and licensed by the State of New Hampshire. The Waterville Valley ambulance is typically staffed at the Advanced Life Support level. Our Advanced EMT's and Paramedics have many years of training and experience in emergency medicine.

I am feeling Ill/injured but, I do

not want an ambulance. What are

my options?

The general public will sometimes tell us they are afraid to call the ambulance. The perception is, once an ambulance has been summoned the EMT's and Paramedics are required to transport the patient to an emergency room. This is not true! Pre-hospital providers are often summoned to assist the public and stabilize minor injuries and illnesses. For instance, during the last year our care providers have assisted with low glucose patients, bandaged plenty of scrapes & cuts, carried injured hikers down a few mountains, and picked up a few folks from falls. These are just a few examples of treat and release scenarios. Our staff is on duty 24 hours a day to assist in all emergencies, big or small. Let us help you determine if transport via ambulance is necessary.

I am reluctant to call the

ambulance because I cannot

afford the bill. What are my

options?

The cost of health care is significant. The level of training and sophistication of treatment plans we provide is "gold standard" Advanced life support is dedicated to a service to minimize morbidity & mortality. The Town of Waterville Valley has a fiscal responsibility to invoice patients for transfers via ambulance to the emergency department. The fees are established through the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and follow typical guidelines of all ambulance service fees. Patients are billed through normal health care insurance channels by our third party billing service, Comstar Ambulance Billing Service. If you're emergency requires transportation via ambulance these fees truly are a secondary concern. If you have any billing concerns please e-mail Captain Dropkin at jdropkin@wvpublicsafety.com

Where does the ambulance

transport to?

The Waterville Valley Ambulance medical resource hospital is Speare Memorial Hospital (SMH), in Plymouth, NH.  Speare Memorial Hospital is a Critical Access Hospital and was recently recognized with the Hospital of Choice Award from the American Alliance of Health Care Providers (AAHCP). Waterville Valley's ambulance care providers work closely with the SMH Emergency Department physician and nursing staff. As a full- service emergency department, (ED), SMH offers a multitude of medical and trauma services.  The SMH medical staff includes a board certified physician on staff 24-hours a day, as well as a midlevel provider - nurse practitioner or physician assistant -during peak hours. Some medical emergencies require critical access to a level I or level II medical facility. During these emergencies the Waterville Valley ambulance crew will initiate helicopter transportation to a specialized medical center within the New England Region. Typically these hospitals include; Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Elliot Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, UMass Memorial Medical Center, and Maine Medical Center. In the last ten years Waterville Valley has utilized flight services from DHART (Dartmouth Hitchcock Advanced Response Team), Boston Med Flight and Life Flight of Maine.

Directions to the hospital

Route 49 west to I-93 south. Take exit 25 in Plymouth. Go right at the stop sign and head towards downtown Plymouth. Travel over bridge and take the rotary. Take the third right on the rotary, like you were going onto Main Street. You will enter the town common area. Bear right after the Post Office and proceed up the hill - Highland Street. The Lamson Library will be on your left. Continue until you see Avery Street on your left (4th left on Highland St.) Speare Memorial Hospital ED entrance is on the left.

Directions to the Hospital