Community Paramedics Address Health Inequities Within EMS Through Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Program Referrals from a "Medical Home".

Authors

Zoë Curry, Brent Olson, Ashley Kloos, Jonathan Zaentz, Ameera Haamid, Margaret Piwowar, Lauren O'Connor, Katie Tataris

Published in

Population health management. Pages 19427891261496776. Oct 12, 2026. Epub Oct 12, 2026.

Abstract

To advance local health equity, a large urban fire department's Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Unit worked with a Chicago-based health care organization to refer patients in "medical homes" to a MIH program. Medical home coordinators referred individuals to Community Paramedics (CPs) in the MIH Unit for program enrollment with a 4-visit model in 4 clinical pathways (hypertension, diabetes, asthma/Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD], and heart failure). A total of 911 utilization of ambulance transportation, emergency department (ED) visits, and inpatient hospitalizations before and after intervention were measured to gauge program impact. A postgraduation survey was distributed to participants. From November 2022 to March 2025, 68 referred individuals completed the program and graduated with a total of 321 in-person visits by CPs. Data were gathered for 6 months before program enrollment and 6 months post-intervention. The most common clinical pathway for graduated patients was hypertension (75%), diabetes (57%), asthma/COPD (47%), and heart failure (41%). Among graduated patients, there was a 43% decrease in 911 ambulance transports, a 46% decrease in ED utilization, and a 42% decrease in hospital admissions. The postgraduation survey was completed by 53% of program graduates; 81% reported symptom improvement, 58% indicated an improved relationship with their primary care clinic, and 74% agreed that CPs improved their overall health care experience. Creating a partnership between a patient's primary care medical home and a large urban fire department's MIH program is a successful strategy for decreasing 911 ambulance transports, ED utilization, and inpatient hospital admissions for individuals at risk for poor health outcomes.

PMID:
42864955
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Oct 2026.

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