(Click on the image for Lynh Bui and Clarence Williams' report)
Washington Post:In the 15 minutes after firefighters and a nurse knocked at Thelma Lee’s Maryland townhouse, they checked her blood pressure, told her what foods would keep her blood sugar from skyrocketing and set up an appointment — and a ride — to visit her primary care physician.
They also changed the battery in her chirping fire alarm and put a scale in her bathroom so she could monitor her weight before rolling out in an SUV to their next house call.
Firefighters in Prince George’s County visit or call her at least once a week in a county project that is part of a growing effort nationwide to rethink 911 services that would reduce nonemergency calls, plug gaps in health care and cut costs to taxpayers, patients and insurers.
In Prince George’s, the fire department identified residents who have called 911 five times or more in a calendar year and targeted some for home visits with nurses from Washington Adventist Doctors Community Hospital and the county health department.
“We talk about medical history, medications, check the house for safety hazards, call Meals on Wheels to eliminate what we can to prevent you from activating the 911 system,” said Brian Goldfeder, a Prince George’s firefighter/paramedic and county mobile health coordinator. [report is here]