State Rep. Dr. Tim Brown addresses the Community Paramedicine Summit on Thursday at Wabash College.
In Tippecanoe County, emergency medical personnel are becoming the only health care provider for patients without insurance or transportation, a growing problem for ambulance services across the state.
To ease the load, departments are looking to Crawfordsville’s Community Paramedicine program as a way to keep people with chronic health problems out of the hospital, while cutting the cost of medical services.
Health care professionals learned about the program Thursday during a health summit at Wabash College. The event was a partnership between the City of Crawfordsville, Indiana State Department of Health, State Rep. Tim Brown and Franciscan Health.
“Today’s health care system is confusing to consumers and patients,” Mayor Todd Barton, who spent 26 years on the Crawfordsville Fire Department, told the audience in Knowling Fieldhouse. “They’re often lost in the myriad of primary care providers, specialists, appointment schedules and a list of medications, each with its own set of instructions.”
The city’s program helps patients with chronic diseases like heart failure, COPD and diabetes manage their conditions and connect to services like diet coaching and nutrition education. Patients are referred by local physicians, emergency room personnel, home health professionals and specialists. The program is funded by a grant from the state health department.
Since launching in January, officials say the program has led to a 98 percent drop in ER and hospital visits and fewer ambulance runs for non-life-threatening illnesses.
“We really think it’s revolutionizing health care as a whole,” said Wabash College senior Logan Kleiman, who helped organize the summit. Kleiman worked with the program this summer as an intern for Barton’s office and the fire department.
Emergency medical and health care providers spent the day discussing how to bring the same approach to their own communities. The summit drew departments and agencies from the Indianapolis area, Wabash, Richmond and other communities.
Lafayette Fire Department Chief Richard Doyle sees the program as one option for putting fewer miles on his ambulances. A growing area population has fueled a recent surge in runs for the department.
“We’re here to find out what the next step is,” Doyle said.
After the first of the year, Crawfordsville will work with the state to develop an out-of-hospital health care system for pre-natal and postpartum patients, said Paul Miller, division chief of EMS.
