According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), an older adult dies of a fall every 19 minutes in the United States. What doesn’t kill you doesn’t “make you stronger” (nice try, Kelly Clarkson). Falls lead to decreased quality of life and can wipe out bank accounts due to medical financial woes. NCOA anticipates the financial toll for older adult falls to reach $67.7 billion by this year!
Context and empathy note: you can fall regardless of age. No one is immune. Still skeptical? This 10-minute TED Talk showcases OSU’s very own Dr. Carmen Quatman speaking on how to harness community paramedicine to help older adults age safely in their own homes.
Rather than sit around and wait for something to happen, one local community is striving to get ahead of the falls with preventative medicine, despite the inability to submit to most insurance companies for reimbursement of services. The payoff in patient satisfaction and improved preventative health has been measurable in the best ways.
The Upper Arlington Fire Division (UAFD) decreased their 9-1-1 calls due to falls by 67% in the last 2 years thanks to this novel approach of providing proactive paramedic services for the 35,000 residents they serve. In tandem with UAFD, UA CARES (Upper Arlington Community Assistance, Referrals and Education Services) has averted ER transport from 9-1-1 calls by 29% per month since 2018.
Who are these magical care angels? They are UA CARES! Comprised of firefighter-paramedics and service coordinators, UA CARES provides intervention, care coordination, home safety assessments, health system navigation, and patient advocacy free of charge to all residents. The goal of the program is conduct home safety assessments in a non-emergency setting and moment to keep residents safely in their own homes, as well as to reduce the need for future EMS services. UA CARES partners with local healthcare providers to create a continuum of care
I spent today on a ride in Medic73, which is also utilized for CARES visits, with FF Matt Jividin and FF Patrick Arnett. These firefighter/paramedic teams are trained to perform CARES intake assessments, which was performed via an multidisciplinary team approach with an Occupational Therapy Ohio State intern. I also met a Community Health Worker in the office as well as shadowed with the incredibly inspiring and talented Christine Leyshon, UA CARES Manager and Service Coordinator.
- What a unique and valuable position to see the home environment and how the patient functions within it. We need more paramedicine programs in the United States and especially in our city!
- Trust was granted nearly immediately from the patient to these paramedicine teams. By showing up in uniform to serve, not just in times of crisis but also in times of calm, clearly afforded a readiness for change and immediate steps toward toward safety.
- The ability to spend 2 hours with a patient providing services is unheard of in the medical profession. It truly allowed for a person-in-environment approach!
For more information about UA CARES, call them at 614-583-5352 or visit the City of Upper Arlington.