Public Health Program

Our aim is to enhance the well-being of its community members by professionally and compassionately bridging the gap between residents and necessary, supportive resources while decreasing the overuse of emergency response for non-emergent service calls. 

Bridging the Gap Between Community Members & Needed Resources

Strategic Plan

The goal will be a provision of effective patient navigation that connects patients to appropriate community supports by guiding them to appropriate resources outside of the emergency response systems.

Purpose

In recent years, the literature suggests that nearly 40% of EMS calls include non-emergent or psychosocial complaints that do not require physical treatment. The unintended consequence is an increase in calls for service, neither of which the fire service, nor emergency room departments are equipped to handle in an efficient or effective manner increasing unnecessary costs.

Community Members

We have identified three main populations that utilize 911 for non-emergent calls, such as those aging in place, mental health/substance use disorders, and those experiencing homelessness. These populations lack resources and support within our district, we believe that in bridging the gap between needed resources and these identified populations, we will reach our goal of decreasing the number of 911 calls that are non-emergent in nature. 

About Us

The Public Health Program Community Paramedic and Community Clinician (Licensed Social Worker) will integrate essential physical and mental health resources across three different counties. These services will improve the quality of life for individuals in need of resources by partnering with public and private agencies to increase access to care and necessary services.

Needs Addressed

• Programs and providers that have deployed comparative models have seen up to a 50 to 70% reduction of 911 non-emergent needs in the target population.
• Responder fatigue lessened, resulting in decreased rates of burnout among the responders and caretakers. 
• Improving the needs of the community, such as services available by increasing access to healthcare organizations and education on public health.