Community Paramedic Program expands to improve at-home healthcare access in the East Metro
Starting this month, M Health Fairview’s community paramedics will be available to patients across the East Metro to assist with at-home wound care, medications, virtual visits, and more on a referral basis.
Healthcare doesn’t stop when a person leaves the clinic or hospital, so how can healthcare workers support patients at home or in other settings?
It’s a question the M Health Fairview Community Paramedic Program is answering one patient at a time. Created in 2018 to bring healthcare directly to people in need, our community paramedics help patients who – because of chronic health issues, age, isolation, economics, or lack of transportation access – face barriers to healthcare access.
Beginning this month, the program is expanding to cover all patients of former HealthEast – now M Health Fairview – primary care clinics in the East Metro.
All four M Health Fairview community paramedics in our program have over 15 years of experience providing emergency assistance on an ambulance. Becoming a community paramedic has allowed them to move from treatment to prevention – helping reduce the need for emergency visits among the patients they serve. Each team member sees roughly five clients a day, and the frequency of visits depends on the situation. Patients who need ongoing care stay in the program longer.
Community Paramedic Thea Kogler, CMPA, NRP, has treated community members at home since March 2020. Some of the most common conditions she helps manage are diabetes, hypertension, mental health, and lymphedema – swelling that can lead to open wounds and infections. In addition, many of her patients are elderly or have limited mobility.
“They have a hard time reaching and caring for their wounds. A lot of sores from lymphedema are below the knees,” said Kogler. “Often, a patient goes in for a clinic visit and has some wounds that require monitoring. I follow up with them at home, make sure that it’s cleaned and bandaged properly. Then, I watch it over the course of my visits to make sure it’s healing with an antibiotic.”
Kogler also problem solves with patients to make their homes safer. If a primary care physician reports that someone is falling often, Kogler will work with that person to find solutions like railings and grab bars. Sometimes, Kogler will see a patient over several weeks. Other times, it’ll be a single visit for a flu shot or medication question.
