Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Shifting Paradigms in 9-1-1 Service Delivery

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

Chesterfield County Fire and EMS is utilizing a unique and innovative approach to assist residents of Chesterfield County to manage emergent and non-emergent medical concerns. This approach, the Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Team, utilizes select specially trained and focused paramedics within the department to address frequent users of the 9-1-1 system and residents who have unmet medical needs. This is done by navigating the customers to existing resources to help manage their medical conditions and ultimately not need to use 9-1-1. The program leverages the specialized training of paramedics to help identify medical challenges, then accessing the comprehensive network of county human services and private partnerships. These professional relationships have been forged to help connect the customer to the resources they need. The MIH program, which began initial operations in February of 2014, has responded to over 1000 residents. These customers have been identified by operational crews as potentially needing assistance. Over the last four years, through the intervention of the MIH team, the program has effectively reduced the use of medically related 9-1-1 calls by residents in the program by 49%, connected them with human services agencies like mental health, social services, senior services and connected them with primary care.