Community Paramedic Protocols

[rdelisle]

Hi all. We are looking at setting up a Community Paramedic program in our region and I am looking for information on similar programs in other areas, such as protocols and procedures. We are looking at doing in-home assesment of CHF, wound care and dressing changes and such. Any info would be helpful. And yes I tried to google the info with no luck.

[FormerEMSLT297]

I have never heard of such a thing in the USA. is this a Canadian thing ???

The closest thing we have is ALS units stationed at Retired living communities so that they are closer to the large number of patients that they transport... but they dont do wound care or in home treatment of CHF...

Please advise further ,, im interested in knowing more about this program.

[kevkei]

Hi all. We are looking at setting up a Community Paramedic program in our region and I am looking for information on similar programs in other areas, such as protocols and procedures. We are looking at doing in-home assesment of CHF, wound care and dressing changes and such. Any info would be helpful. And yes I tried to google the info with no luck.

Have you looked at Nova Scotia?

Nova Scotia Community Paramedic

Nova Scotia EHS

How about the International Round Table on Community Paramedicine?

There are a bunch of resources and articles Here.

[akroeze]

I am not meaning this in a hostile way, I am genuinely curious.

As someone who is both a Paramedic and a Nurse I don't understand the role you are describing. It sounds like community nursing to me.... so why do we need community medics? What do they bring that community nurses don't?

[BEorP]

It sounds like community nursing to me.... so why do we need community medics?

Why does Toronto Fire have City News follow them around? PR.

(I know this is not the only reason for it, but it is a great one from my perspective)

[rdelisle]

The goal is to provide health care services to remote and rural communities that may only have a doctor in town once or twice a week or less. A program is up and running in Nova Scotia (input from NS medics?). It is also to free up higher trained resources that are needed more elsewhere. Kevkei, yes I have looked at NS and thank you for the additional links.

[kevkei]

I am not meaning this in a hostile way, I am genuinely curious.

As someone who is both a Paramedic and a Nurse I don't understand the role you are describing. It sounds like community nursing to me.... so why do we need community medics? What do they bring that community nurses don't?

Easy, because community healthcare has failed. Either those that are supposed to provide the services do or we have to pick up the slack.

The industry trend is that more and more people are relying on calling EMS to try to access these services. Because we respond to 911 calls in a timely manner (where as community health providers do not, working Mon-Fri office hours).

[tniuqs]

Interesting topic;

The point of having a Paramedic in this role does have serious advantages, in my hood (presently in Industry) the provision of Acute Care has been very clearly established, OH + S has recognised this. But we fall down in the delivery of primary care. (curently unaddressed in our Education System) combining these 2 roles could prove to be cost efective and improved delivery of care. Dare I believe that early intervention in primary care could avoid costs in Acute Care.

The only problem seams to be the lack of forward thinking...ie failing to recognise some Gap skills, ie suturing and bug juice delivery.

cheers

[nsmedic393]

I might as well speak up on behalf of us in NS. We do have a operational community paramedic program in one community in the province and are in the works of developing several more. The community currently being served is Freeport/Westport. They are located over a hour away from the closest hospital and are in fact two islands at the end of a long neck of land. We have a unit stationed there 24/7 as part of our SSP. Due to the small but elderly population, being unable to get a doctor to cover the community, and the large ammount of down time for the medics working in that post, the CP program was established.

The paramedics work in co-operation with a nurse practitioner and a medical control physician from the local hospital. As the link indicates, they do wound care, suture removal, daily injection meds, blood draws, home visits for CHF assesment and falls assesment, they also have a adopt-a-patient program where the doctor identifies a patient in the community requiring specific attention and they are assigned a specific medic that monitors their overall condition.

Hope this helps

[tniuqs]

I might as well speak up on behalf of us in NS. We do have a operational community paramedic program in one community in the province and are in the works of developing several more. The community currently being served is Freeport/Westport. They are located over a hour away from the closest hospital and are in fact two islands at the end of a long neck of land. We have a unit stationed there 24/7 as part of our SSP. Due to the small but elderly population, being unable to get a doctor to cover the community, and the large ammount of down time for the medics working in that post, the CP program was established.

The paramedics work in co-operation with a nurse practitioner and a medical control physician from the local hospital. As the link indicates, they do wound care, suture removal, daily injection meds, blood draws, home visits for CHF assesment and falls assesment, they also have a adopt-a-patient program where the doctor identifies a patient in the community requiring specific attention and they are assigned a specific medic that monitors their overall condition.

Hope this helps

Are you trying to say that NS is leading the PAC.....say it isn't so, Lord Thundering!

LOL

ps and where is that "How to speak Nuffie" guide you promised me?

cheers