Paramedics could help patients with preventive and non-emergency care in rural Colorado

Rural medical personnel in Colorado are vetting a new method of health care that could help rural patients with preventive care, Reid Wright of the Cortez Journal reports. The community paramedic program "aims to have emergency medical personnel provide health care to patients in their home before an emergency arises." The program is helpful in rural areas where doctors are scarce, especially in Montezuma County, which recently was designated an area deficient of primary-care providers by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It could also become a model for other rural areas of the country.

Almost 80 percent of emergency-room visits in Montezuma County are for non-emergency treatment, which costs patients three times more than visiting a doctor's office. The community paramedic program would employ paramedics to do home visits with patients that have serious illnesses, but don't require full-time care. Paramedics will also determine other needs while visiting patients' homes that may require help from other organizations like the American Red Cross, social services, substance-abuse treatment groups or energy-assistance programs. They can also check homes for environmental hazards. The program will cost an estimated $1.5 million over five years, but will save an estimated $9.9 million in health-care costs. Interested parties have already donated $800,000 to the program. (Read more)