The Community Paramedic Program
The Community Paramedic program (CP) delivers non-emergency in-home health care directly to residents in need. Historically, Paramedics have been responsible for providing emergency medical services and transportation of sick and injured persons to the nearest Emergency Department by ambulance. The Community Paramedicine program is a new initiative, available 14 hours a day (from 7 am to 9 pm), seven days a week. Our primary focus is serving older adults in our community who have complex medical needs, are at risk of hospitalization, are awaiting Long Term Care (LTC) homes, or may need LTC in the future. Our goal is to work alongside existing health care providers to keep residents safe in their home for as long as possible, helping to avoid unnecessary Emergency Department visits and hospital admissions by being available and engaged in your health care before an emergency occurs.
Services Offered:
CP@Clinic: Community Paramedics offer bi-weekly clinics in seniors housing at four separate locations within SSM. The mobile clinic is set up in the common room and all building residents are welcome and encouraged to attend. This program is offered in affiliation with McMaster University. CP@Clinic is an innovative, evidence-based chronic disease prevention, management, and health promotion program that seeks to:
- Improve older adults’ health and quality of life and reduce their social isolation
- Better connect older adults with primary care and community resources
- Reduce the economic burden of avoidable 911 calls by older adults
For additional information and access to research from this program, feel free to visit https://cpatclinic.ca/
Home Visits: CP also offers home visits for referred patients. Referrals come from a variety of Health Care providers in the community. A large portion of referred patients result from hospital and Emergency room discharges. Our goal is to ensure services are in place to avoid re-admission to the hospital. Services can include:
- Remote monitoring of vital signs
- Medical management – assistance managing complex medical issues (medication review, education/direction relevant to managing disease processes, liaising amongst your circle of care to ensure follow up appointments are arranged and transport is secured, etc)
- Point of Care testing for enrolled patients (urinalysis and blood work)
- Connect with other health-related and social services (homecare, nursing, mental health, meals, transport, visiting, housing, etc)
- Act as a liaison with your health care team to ensure consistency in the continuity of your care
- Medication questions/review
- Assistance with navigating the health care system
How the Process Works for Home Visits:
Community Paramedicine is a referral based service that requires patient consent for referral. Consenting Patients must be referred by a health care provider such as your Family Doctor or Nurse, discharge planner, or paramedics.
Once Community Paramedicine receives your referral, we will call you to make an intake appointment in your home. This will help us to understand and determine which services we may be able to offer to you, or link you with.
We may be able to provide several services in the short, medium, or long-term. We may also link you with other appropriate resources from within the community, and we are always present to help you understand and navigate changes to your health.
We will conduct continued medical check-ins and monitoring on an as needed basis determined by your Community Paramedic.
Our Goals:
- Reducing avoidable 911 calls, emergency department visits and hospital stays through preventative and responsive care
- Prevention and education
- Keep patients healthy, safe, and at home
- Assisting patients in achieving their health care goals and improving their quality of life