Nebraska Agency Launches New Community Paramedic Programs
March 2, 2016 -- Medics At Home (MAH), a provider of community paramedic-related services in Nebraska, has announced two new programs with three local CHI hospitals and the PACE organization.
During the fall/winter of 2014/2015, MAH, an ALS-licensed service in Nebraska, completed a pilot program with Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha, NE. The purpose of the pilot was to partner with IMC to visit patients diagnosed with pneumonia and COPD on the day of their discharge to assess the following:
- Ensure discharge orders were understood and followed;
- Ensure sure new medications were picked up;
- Ensure if new equipment, e.g., nebulizers and CPAP, was delivered and the patient understood how to operate it;
- Ensure home support systems were in place;
- Ensure homes were safe in terms of fall prevention and other minor safety items;
- Ensure patients were settled in and able to support themselves at home.
These patients had a history of frequent readmissions, non-compliance with medication and poor or non-existence home support systems. The pilot accomplished its goal by helping IMC reduce readmissions by providing important services to discharged patients and identifying several quality improvement initiatives for the discharge flow.
Starting in March 2016, MAH will once again pilot another program with Immanuel, Lakeside and Midlands whereby EMS personnel, working within their scope of practice and with the approval of the medical director, will visit a control group of patients being discharged with a diagnosis of pneumonia and COPD. MAH will visit on the day of discharge and on post-discharge day 10.
The goal of this program will be to reduce readmissions, but most important, to make sure patients are comfortable and are following their discharge orders so that they can remain safe and healthy in their home environment.
In late 2015, MAH renewed a community paramedic contract with the PACE organization, an all-inclusive managed medical care center for Medicare/Medicaid patients. PACE utilizes MAH to go to their member’s homes to do assessments, minor treatments such as fluid therapy, diagnostic blood draws and wellness checks. This program was so successful in the pilot stage in 2014/2015, that PACE is implementing this as an ongoing program included in its services. The program to-date has saved multiple trips to the ED or to a PACE clinic for their patients, thus saving major medical dollars for all involved.
VA Omaha
The VA Omaha has announced that Medics At Home (MAH) will continue to provide non-emergency ambulance service for its patients in Eastern Nebraska, Western Iowa and surrounding communities.
MAH, aka Omaha Ambulance, has provided this service to the Omaha VA, along with wheelchair and courtesy transportation, for over 25 years.
“We are proud to continue to serve our nation’s veterans and we have established a long history of quality service to the VA”, said Tom Townsend, chair and COO. “We appreciate the confidence the VA has in our service and will look forward to a continued relationship for the foreseeable future.”
Medics At Home is an ALS-licensed EMS service for Nebraska and Iowa and has been providing emergent and non-emergent ambulance transport as well as wheelchair transports for over 80 years. MAH has fully staffed locations in Omaha and Lincoln: www.medicsathome.com.
PACE is a managed care organization: www.immanuelcommunities.com.
Immanuel, Lakeside and Midlands hospitals are owned and managed by CHI: www.chihealth.com.
