ROCKFORD, Ill. — A fire department and a hospital in Illinois have teamed up to test a community paramedicine program to reduce the number of times superusers call 911.
Rockford Fire Department and SwedishAmerican Hospital chose eight of the estimated 380 superusers for the pilot program. Superusers visited the emergency department more than 10 times per year.
The goal was to reduce their nonemergency calls to 911, while improving their health.
Medics from the department and nurses from the hospital visited the eight people at home to check on their health and safety during the first half of the year, cutting their number of visits to the ER in half, from a total of 65 to 30, the Rockford Register Star reported.
The number of ambulance rides the group took also diminished, by 38 percent. Providing the patients with a phone number to reach nurses who could answer their questions also reduced 911 calls.