City of Bloomington, Indiana VIDEO UPDATES with Mayor Hamilton, 13 Dec 2022

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From YouTube: Video Update: Mobile Integrated Healthcare at Bloomington Fire Department

Description

Join Mayor Hamilton and Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) Community Care Coordinators McKenna Terry and Shelby Wood as they discuss BFD’s new Mobile Integrated Healthcare program. The new program, first piloted in 2022, focuses on providing healthcare services directly to patients on location, continuity of care, and potentially reducing non-emergency calls to 911. In 2023, two more community care coordinator positions will be added.

BFD is the largest and only fully paid fire service provider in Monroe County and, as such, has earned an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 1/1X, placing the department in the top 0.5% of rated departments in the U.S. and the top 0.2% of rated departments in Indiana.

The Bloomington Fire Department serves the community with more than 100 employees, located among five stations, responding to over 5,000 emergencies per year. BFD provides fire suppression, technical rescue, integrated healthcare, and emergency medical response capabilities to City residents and visitors, Indiana University, and surrounding communities through aid agreements. They also provide outreach and education, supporting children, families, and schools in the community.

If you’d like to learn more about this program, contact BFD at 812-332-9763, or email McKenna at mckenna.terry@bloomington.in.gov or Shelby at shelby.wood@bloomington.in.gov. A transcript of today’s video is available at https://bton.in/h!xgy.

A

Hi this is Bloomington Mayor, John Hamilton back with you thanks so much for being with us, and today we have a really exciting update about what's going on in the Bloomington Fire Department, and we have mechanitteri and uh Shelby wood with us today, two pretty recent employees with the fire department and we're going to be talking about the mobile Integrated Health program, and uh so first of all, let's remember mostly what firefighters do is respond to 9-1-1 calls emergencies. They do some fire prevention work.

A

A lot, but also the 9-1-1 calls are basically responding to fires or health emergencies and you're new and you're doing things a little differently. So why don't you just tell us a little bit about what's different when you guys respond to a 9-1-1 call yeah.

B

So our program is mobile, Integrated Health um and we are a patient-centered care model where we get to meet our patients where they are so sometimes that's in home. Sometimes that's in a facility and sometimes that's on the street, but we get to meet them where they need to be met and then help coordinate the care that they're going to need further to prevent further 9-1-1 calls that are maybe non-emergent, but also help Gap that continuity of care so.

A

Like I, think of firefighters, most of us do is the Bell goes off 9-1-1 they run out, they fix a problem, they put out a fire, they help somebody in crisis, but you guys you still do respond to 9-1-1 calls. Sometimes is it or you mostly do things before or after McKenna.

C

It's the before and after before.

A

And after yeah, and what do you do we.

C

Will go out to their house and visit with them and see where those gaps are and see what they're needing as far as how their needs need to be met.

A

So this might be people who have frequent 9-1-1 responses is that right, often yeah, okay, um so it's kind of many people, don't know that 911 fire department, often what they respond to are Health calls anyway, absolutely not just fires. Fires is a little piece of what they do so tell me about what you were doing before and then what made you apply for this job, if you will admit Shelby, let's.

B

Start yeah, so um I got my EMT in 2020, but I have spent the last five years working as a victims advocate for a prosecutor, so I applied for this job because I it really had my name written all over it. I not only get to utilize, my EMT here, but I get to utilize my Human Services degree. So a big part with EMS is that you know you're responding to a call and then not maybe necessarily seeing what happens afterwards.

A

Right, it's emergency right. It's emergency right.

B

So here we not only get to like do Health assessments and that sort of thing, but we get to see it through and we make sure that they get the help they need long term instead of just respawn emergency. So it's fantastic, I love. It.

A

And since October, oh.

B

Yes, I've been doing it since October.

A

Just a couple months in McKenna you, what were you doing? I.

C

Was in EMT for six years prior, um both inner city and Rural EMS.

A

Riding an ambulance.

C

Yes, loved it, um I came from a 24 hour on 48-hour off service. I have a little girl, so the scheduling was not really there for me to be home with my family like I, wanted it to be so I seen this job posting and it was like okay, this is a different avenue of what I'm doing. I could really love it, and so I kind of jumped in full force and been.

A

C

Going really good so.

A

You are a team.

C

B

Has the best partner there is yes I'm just kidding, I have the best part.

A

It's really interesting our fire department, our Public Safety overall, keeps evolving like we added police, social workers and.

B

Which are fantastic, do you interact with them, yeah they're, great.

A

Yeah, so it's kind of this sense that, in between the sworn officers of police and the sworn firefighters.

B

A

A lot of work that can be done and you're really focused on that Health, Care, side, I, guess and.

B

A

Is there an example of what you've done in a typical day? Maybe there are typical days, but just some stories, of what what you've done since you've been here.

B

Yeah, so we actually spent our day yesterday responding to calls that were initially with our fire department. Lift assists right.

A

Lift assists someone who fell.

B

But they don't necessarily need EMS right. They just need help being picked up, so our firefighters had ran several times to this.

A

Residence same place right.

B

And right and when we got there, our obviously our initial thought was okay. How can we prevent Falls right we're here for Lift assist, but when we got there, we realized that um this couple really needed much more than just fall prevention right, so they needed some basic needs like help bathing help with food, um so we're getting to actually help coordinate that care so that they're not we're not just going to help pick them up right. We're helping with our quality of life and.

A

We love it and you you follow up with them, and it also the goal. I suppose, is that they have to call less often to 9-1-1. Yes,.

B

And we already are seeing that so on our you.

A

Track that kind of thing like how you.

B

Know yeah so, um and it's actually our fire system. um You know we get to see how many times we've run on somebody um and then it's very clear when we've got to step in and we're not running as often right. We never want to deter someone from calling 9-1-1 if they need it yeah right, but if it's a non-emergency situation, where we really don't necessarily need one 9-1-1, we want to try to help step in to prevent those calls.

A

They can reach out directly to we're, not a 9-1-1. Maybe we can let people know how to do that. Yes,.

B

A

Do you have any surprises, or you know things that that struck you that people might be interested in, but in the job.

C

um I was really happy to be able to support the sworn service members that are in there, because this whole program, another big thing for it, is to lessen the burnout the less they are going to the same addresses, hopefully the more they are wanting to stay and do the job you.

A

Know that's really interesting because I know, firefighters are in the work to help, so it probably is kind of frustrating if you feel like you're going over.

C

A

Over and over and while you're helping the emergency you're, not.

C

A

Maybe they're not advancing the weight and you guys can help.

B

Do that yeah and they do a great job of doing their job.

A

B

It's not their job to do the Human Service work right. That's.

A

Why we exist? It's like the police, social workers,.

B

A

Of that integration of stuff I know you mentioned I know: you've worked with the stride, Center and other.

B

Places from that.

A

From that group, so that's really important I think it's useful for people to know too we're trying to figure out. This is Health Care work and we're trying to figure out. Can we get funding I know, there's a Grant application pending uh and and but also it's just thinking about. How do we get integrated in the health system a little better.

B

Too right right, so um the the ultimate goal. At this point um you know we want to work on help with things like help, prevent readmit to hospitals.

A

B

Want to help people that are dealing with some chronic disease and an overall healthy living right. So the goal is to eventually help. You know mitigate that burden of that financial burden on maybe the Health Care system, because we're already stepping in and working on, preventative programs So, eventually we're we're hoping to get to the point where we get to work with health insurances and that sort of thing so that we have a sustainability plan.

A

That's all that bureaucracy.

B

Stuff yeah, but.

A

Listen I'm I'm, looking at your search, I'm, so proud, you're, both wearing the city of Bloomington, Fire, Department, yeah,.

B

A

Is so great to have you part of the department? This is the top ranked ISO one uh ranked Fire Department in our city of Bloomington, and it's just um really refreshing to hear about how it's continuing to evolve and improve and help our community live better lives. We thank you so much for what you do and yeah.

B

A

And if you want more information, we'll we'll share that on the on the screen and look for McKenna and and Shelby out in the field sometime and thanks so much for what you do.

C