By Liv Osby
Greenville Online
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. — In a dimly lit room at County Square, the 911 line rings, signaling an emergency somewhere in Greenville County. Dispatchers trained to deal with heart attacks and shootings and multi-car pileups are ready to send help.
But one in five calls involves another kind of situation. They’re calls about head colds and stubbed toes and prescription refills. These are a staggering litany of routine maladies that affect the health-care costs of everyone — in rising hospital costs and insurance premiums. Many of these callers need some kind of medical attention, experts say, but not a fully equipped ambulance staffed by paramedics.
Sending EMS to these kinds of scenes, as required by law, increases arrival times to other emergencies, means longer waits at hospital emergency rooms for sick patients, and adds to spiraling health care costs, experts say. And Greenville County is poised to do something about it. A pilot program is being launched that uses special software to triage low acuity calls to a nurse who can assess the situation and determine the best course of action.
Full Story: New program aims to relieve ER headaches