Calif. fire department pairs nurse with medic to cut ER runs

The year-long pilot program sends a nurse practitioner to treat patients on scene who don't need transport to the hospital

By Becca Smouse
USA Today

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A home-bound heart patient called 911. His leg hurt where a catheter was inserted, but he didn't complain of chest pains.

To paramedic Scott Fox, it was the kind of call that might have meant automatically rushing the man to a hospital emergency room. "There was no talking him out of it," Fox recalls. But now he had another option.

Expert Analysis

Collaborations show a paradigm shift for EMS

In the past couple of days there have been a few more stories showing EMS providers performing un-EMS duties that not only benefit the patient, but the community overall through more effective treatment, lower costs, and greater patient satisfaction.

Moreover, I’m really keen on the level of integration in which these projects are operating. Nurse practitioners paired with medics? Paramedics running a wound care team within a hospital? What could possibly be next?

And that’s my point - anything could be “what’s next” for traditional out-of-hospital personnel, if we only become active partners within our local health care communities. Innovation currently lies in local organizations coming together to synergize their strengths and balance their shortcomings to provide quality, meaningful care to patients both within and outside the hospital walls. It’s incredibly exciting that our industry appears to be in the forefront of dramatic change happening throughout the health care industry.

He arrived at the man's home with a nurse practitioner, Victoria Morrison, who calmed him down, checked him out and contacted his cardiologist to set up a next day appointment. "We saved the ER visit for a patient, which wouldn't have done anything for him anyways," Fox says.

Read full story: Cities put nurse practitioners alongside paramedics