On Tuesday , the city of El Cajon launched a pilot program that aims to decrease the number of unnecessary ambulance calls and emergency room visits.
Dubbed the El Cajon Community Care program, the new initiative will connect 911 callers who have non-life threatening needs to a “nurse navigator.” That individual will be a state-licensed nurse who will determine what level of medical attention callers need and recommend urgent care visits, telehealth appointments, prescription refills and more.
“Previously if someone called 911, we would send an ambulance and a fire truck to every single emergency," said American Medical Response operations manager Paul Fornay. "Under this program, eligible patients are able to talk to a nurse navigator and find options for care outside of an emergency department setting.”
Ambulances will still be dispatched for urgent and life-threatening emergencies, a city spokesperson said. Those connected to nurse navigators will be connected with a 24/7 call center in Texas staffed by nurses who are licensed in California.
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“The aim of the program is to connect the caller with the right level of care while easing the burden on first responders and freeing them up to respond to other life-threatening emergencies,” Dave Richards, assistant to the El Cajon city manager, said in a statement.
According to the city, about 16,000 medical-related 911 calls are made in El Cajon. Roughly one-third of those are not an emergency. The $300,000 program is part of a partnership between the city and AMR. City officials said there is no cost to the caller to access the nurse navigator.
The program began five years ago in Washington, D.C., and is now operating in 18 cities nationwide, including in San Bernardino. In the past five years, 85,000 patients were "navigated" by nurses, with no negative outcomes reported.
Gilbert Lopez of the San Bernardino County Fire Department said public awareness of the new initiative will be essential since some callers may push back when they’re being transferred to a nurse. However, he said, callers ultimately realize getting connected to care over the phone instead of a costly trip to the emergency room is a better option.
