Community Paramedic Program Effects on Population Health

Chronic illnesses like diabetes, asthma, and COPD are a costly burden for both patients and the healthcare system. The purpose of a community health paramedic program is to use experienced healthcare professionals to help teach patients about their illness and help continue regular treatments prescribed by their physician outside of the hospital. Routine checkups ensure a number of things including that diabetics regularly check their glucose levels, asthmatics know how to properly using their inhaler, or even post-operation patients understand their treatment plans. We anticipate that the introduction of a community health paramedic program will have a positive impact on community health by decreasing number of hospital visits due to chronic illnesses, and by increasing overall health awareness within the community. Implementing the program entails identifying patients within the population that access emergent medical services regularly (typically identified as accessing services 4 or more times a year) to enroll in the program, and also building relationships with local physicians and hospitals to identify patients that might be at a higher risk of injury. Ideally this program will decrease the number of non-emergent calls for rescue services, and also decrease community healthcare costs by keeping patients with chronic illnesses healthy and out of the hospital. This research will provide valuable insight into the ability to increase community health and decrease healthcare costs in rural communities through established EMS systems.