Rockford firefighters and area nurses perform home visits (more)

Excerpts from rrstar.com:

A pilot initiative between the Rockford Fire Department and SwedishAmerican Hospital aimed at reducing the number of “superusers” who frequently rely on ambulance services for emergency room visits has shown promising results this year. However, the challenge of securing long-term funding for a broader rollout remains unresolved.

The program selected eight patients out of an estimated 380 individuals who visit the emergency department more than ten times annually—some even making dozens of trips. These patients received home visits from nurses and firefighters during the first half of the year, which significantly reduced their emergency room visits, according to Dr. Kathleen Kelly, chief clinical integration officer at SwedishAmerican.

Known as the Mobile Integrated Healthcare pilot program, it targeted only a small portion of those overusing emergency services in Rockford. The goal was to cut down on unnecessary ER visits and ambulance rides while improving patient health outcomes.

“After our team conducted proactive home visits to identify the triggers behind frequent emergency department visits, we saw a significant decrease in both ER visits and ambulance transfers,” Kelly explained.

Officials believe that expanding the program—potentially with support from all three major regional healthcare systems—could be highly effective. Similar programs across the country have also demonstrated success in reducing emergency service use through mobile healthcare interventions.

During the first six months of 2014, the eight participants visited the emergency room a total of 65 times. With the help of home visits, this number dropped to 30 in the same period in 2015—a 54% reduction. Additionally, they took 30 ambulance rides in the first half of 2015, down from 48 in the same timeframe in 2014, representing a 38% decrease.

All eight patients have complex medical conditions requiring medication. However, regular visits to a primary care physician often offer better outcomes and more efficient use of healthcare resources, Kelly noted.

Many of these individuals live in poverty or have limited incomes, making access to healthcare and transportation challenging. Simply providing them with a direct line to nurses who can answer their questions helped reduce the number of 911 calls, Kelly added.

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