WASHINGTON — Getting calls from residents without an emergency is a common problem for 911 dispatchers.
Recognizing that those frequent callers often have medical needs, if not emergencies, Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department is launching a new program to reach them, while freeing up emergency responders.
“You go and talk to these citizens, and see what they are missing in their health care system,” firefighter and paramedic Lt. Brian Goldfeder said of the county Integrated Healthcare Program.
Goldfeder is running the program with his partner, who collected names of residents who called 911 5 or more times, and 10 or more times, in fiscal year 2016 and compared those lists with hospital records of frequent visitors to the emergency room.
“Any time someone calls 911, we’re always going to go,” Goldfeder said. “But what we’re doing for patients is trying to identify the reasons they are calling and trying to prevent the next 911 call by using resources in the county to really get these citizens the care that they need.”
They are hoping to reach 100 citizens at their homes within the six-month pilot period.
“All we’re doing is a vital check. It’s really just a long conversation about their conditions, their medications and what gaps aren’t being met in their health care system,” Goldfeder said.
The program is already in place in Queen Anne’s County, where dispatchers have seen a significant decrease in repeat callers who do not have an emergency.
The goal of the home visits in Prince George’s County is to provide a patient with health care options while freeing up 911 for emergency calls, Goldfeder said.
