Littleton Fire Rescue Finds Solution To Unnecessary Emergency Room Trips
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - Many times patients who call 911 are unnecessarily transported to the emergency room, costing the patient and the department a lot of money. But Littleton Fire Rescue has come up with a solution.
Littleton Fire Rescue noticed a gap in their emergency care -- there are a lot of people calling 911 system but don't actually need a fire truck or ambulance to show up. That's where the new Care Car comes in play.
"We're able to keep them in the comfort of their home and still provide them the treatment that they need," Chief Chris Armstrong said.
The Care Car is armed with a physician assistant and paramedic. They offer on-the-spot medical attention.
"About 40 to 60 percent of the 911 calls aren't emergencies. They're basically patients who don't know how to access the system, they may not have a primary care physician, they don't know who to call for some of their needs. They just call 911," said Aimee King-Rogers, a physician assistant with Littleton Fire Rescue.
The Care Car staff will navigate their patients to find the resources they need, rather than calling 911 again. It could include finding a primary doctor, among many other things.
The Care Car calls run the gamut but focuses on non-emergency care that doesn't require a transport to the hospital.
"I've done a couple of lacerations where we've had someone fall, or had one that caught himself in the lip with a hammer. We were able to suture them, remove those sutures a few days later," King-Rogers said.
Last summer Littleton Fire Rescue also began using Quick Cars, which are armed with emergency gear and focus on more serious calls that don't require an engine. The Quick Car increased the availability of the fire engines and medic units by 4 percent, so they could focus on more serious situations like a fire.
RELATED: Littleton's 'Quick Cars' Save Time, Free Up Other Emergency Vehicles
The hope is the Care Car will do the same and give more services to patients. They aren't meant to replace traditional fire apparatus.
The Care Car program runs about $300,000 per year, which includes hiring seven part-time physician assistants and a paramedic. A new fire truck is upwards of $1 million.
