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San Diego community paramedicine program halted by staffing shortage

AMR said the Resource Access Program is no longer in operation due to staffing shortages that lasted longer than anticipated

By EMS1 Staff

SAN DIEGO — A community paramedicine program aimed at helping frequent 911 callers find alternative services was halted due to a staffing shortage, according to officials.

NBC San Diego said AMR’s Resource Access Program, which was launched to decrease the amount of excessive 911 callers from the city’s system, is no longer operating due to a “paramedic shortage.”

Earlier this year, the fire department began tracking patients who frequently called 911 to see if they could alleviate the situation with a community paramedic team. Data from the program showed that there was a 72.7 percent drop in usage by the top 25 frequent 911 callers.

“Last year, we redeployed our resources across the city, including the four RAP medics, due to the ongoing paramedic shortage in San Diego County,” AMR Manager of Government and Public Affairs Madeleine Baudoin said. “This action allows us to best serve the community with the resources we have. We will be working with the fire department to study the long-term feasibility of the RAP program.”

When asked to elaborate on the why the program was ending, Deputy Chief Gina La Mantia said “the staffing shortages lasted longer than anticipated.

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