Mobile Health Care Program Having An Impact

The Fond du Lac City Council got an update this week on the Mobile Integrated Health Care program the Fire Department initiated last March. It uses off-duty paramedics to do in-home checks on people for medical and non-medical needs. Fire Chief Peter O’Leary says the program has cut in half the number of emergency rooms visits of the people they have visited and reduced hospitalizations by 43 percent. 911 calls of that sample group have also been reduced by 62 percent. O’Leary feels they could be doing better if the visits were increased from once a week to twice. He says the paramedics might be the only people who visit those patients in a day. Paramedics participating in the program also get a feeling of satisfaction from helping others out. O’Leary point out the program still needs a long term funding solution. Agnesian HealthCare Foundation is funding the program with a $17,400 grant. The County Health Department is also involved in the collaboration.