New concept for the MFD: Paramedics treating patients before they call 911

MILWAUKEE -- A new concept for the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) -- paramedics treating patients before they call 911. They'll start this week, and this will help cut down on the number of emergency calls MFD gets from the same home each month.

They're called community paramedics, and they'll specialize in treating chronic conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

"The issue with asthma is you can get the air in, but you can't necessarily squeeze it out," said Sarah Brundidge, manager of lung health services with the American Lung Association in Wisconsin.

These paramedics are training with the American Lung Association, thanks to a grant from the United Health Foundation.

"Milwaukee has some of the highest rates of asthma in the country," said Brundidge.

MFD dispatch records show 24% of calls are from individuals with 'difficulty breathing.' The same patient could call as many as 40 times in six months.

"They call 911, and we go back and go through the same process again -- taking them to the ER. It's very expensive, very time-consuming," said MFD Assistance Chief Daniel Berendt.

When a patient calls 911, the situation is already an emergency. But the idea here is to have those patients schedule a visit with the paramedics and then treat them before they become critical.

"We reach out to those and sign them up for the program," said Berendt.

They will then treat these patients at home -- like a doctor making a house call.

"It's the innovation we were really hoping for with this grant. We are coming in to the community with dollars, giving it to the people who can make a difference," said Dustin Hinton, president and CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin.

Community paramedics will make the MFD more efficient and potentially save patients thousands in healthcare costs.

The community paramedics will also do "environmental assessments" -- identifying the triggers in a home that may be causing the asthma or COPD. Some of the more common ones are dust mites and mold.

Community paramedics will also help diabetics, patients with high blood pressure and hospice patients. The pilot program gets underway October 1st.