DC Fire & EMS addresses 'frequent flyers' with special unit

[wvditchdoc]

http://www.ems1.com/ems-news/589811-...-special-unit/

Most of us call 911 in a real emergency: heart attack, house on fire, someone trying to break in.

But last year, there were 30 people who called DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services a total of more than 2,000 times.

Read the entire article.

This would be a good program if you had the available staff.....interesting.

[PSYCtest040]

Now that is a good idea and as allied health care professionals it is well within our scope of practice. I think I will share this with my colleagues.

[prncssmdc]

It's about time.

I don't know if it's so much IF you have the available staffing, it's finding a way to staff something like this.

THIS is also part of our job. If this type of position was offered to me in my area I'd jump on it in a heartbeat (I'd still like some "real" street shifts ;-p). There are plenty of times I've picked up a pt, looked at their home situation, etc. dropped them off at the ER for whatever and tried to explain to the nursing staff that they need additional help beyond emergency medicine. I get the very empty promise from the RN of "ok, we'll look into that" and then I'm running back to the same address later in the shift!

Doctor's and nurses don't see how these people live. Social workers can't find them if they don't know about them. Looks like the folks in DC just filled that gap.

[scribble]

"Every time I had an appointment, they were calling DC Fire to bring me in the house," says Joyce McWain Gray. Her private ambulance service was calling 911 twice a day just to get her in and out of her house for doctor's appointments.

WHAT?!?! I never would have dreamed of doing that...she wasn't even that big!

[strwblue]

I would be willing to do those calls. After all who better to do house calls than us. Maybe Obama should consider funding for this kinda of program

[AMRemt]

"Every time I had an appointment, they were calling DC Fire to bring me in the house," says Joyce McWain Gray. Her private ambulance service was calling 911 twice a day just to get her in and out of her house for doctor's appointments.

WHAT?!?! I never would have dreamed of doing that...she wasn't even that big!

One of the privates here calls 911 for all lift assists, they WILL NOT send a second truck even on a transfer.

[fire109]

the DC program sounds like someone had a brain and looked into it. People in other systems should take a goodlook

[Peacheywoo]

The ambulance service I did my work with have a similar scheme - the 'revolving door' patients were visited by someone from the service and a hand held record developed with info about family, carers, etc. Not sure how much its affected the call rates but last time I spoke to one of the bosses they were happy with how it was going...

[Dorkfish]

Seems like a good approach to the problem, but if it makes sense, it will never catch on here .

[PSYCtest040]

Seems like a good approach to the problem, but if it makes sense, it will never catch on here .

No.....if it cuts into revenue it won't catch on there.