How nurse navigators are helping improve emergency medical response in Southwest Washington.

An American Medical Response ambulance in Portland, January 11, 2024. In November 2023, Multnomah County fined its ambulance service provider more than $500,000 for delayed responses to 911 calls. AMR appealed the penalty and said the delays were largely due to staffing shortages, exacerbated by the county's need for two paramedics per ambulance deployed in emergencies. — An American Medical Response ambulance in Portland, Jan. 11, 2024. In November 2023, Multnomah County fined its ambulance service provider more than $500,000 for delayed responses to 911 calls. AMR appealed the penalty, stating that the delays were largely due to staffing shortages, exacerbated by the county’s need for two paramedics per ambulance deployed in emergencies.

*Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB*

Emergency response systems in the Pacific Northwest facing great tension Due to inadequate staffing levels and increased 911 call volumes.

In response, some cities nurse navigation programs To overcome this burden.

Under the program, dispatchers will be able to direct low-level 911 calls to a team of nurses instead of sending an ambulance. These nurses can give callers medical advice or help them schedule urgent care or telehealth appointments.

“Unfortunately, many people do not know the options available to get the treatment they need without having to go to the emergency room,” said Rocco Roncarati, regional manager of American Medical Response’s operations in Southwest Washington.

AMR started A nurse navigation program was launched in Clackamas County in September and program in Southwest Washington Since May 2023.

During this time, Roncarati said, more and more patients chose to use AMR’s nurse navigation line, which connects to the nurse call center in Texas, rather than requesting an ambulance to the hospital.

“It’s becoming more recognisable. “We have people who call frequently and know the program,” he said.

Clark County EMS medical program director Dr. Marlow Macht said patients often call 911 because they don’t have easy access to primary care or reliable transportation to the hospital.

The nurse navigation program aims to provide these patients with the care they need while freeing up EMS resources to respond to life-threatening calls, he said.

“I think anyone who has experience interacting with the healthcare system would describe this as frustrating,” Macht said. “People are trying to do the best they can, but it can be difficult to navigate the system. We want to do the best we can as an EMS system to meet people’s needs.”

The nurse navigation line has saved Clark County an average of one fire and emergency room response per day since the program’s launch, according to a report from AMR that evaluated the program. Additionally, the equivalent of having the ambulance available for approximately three more hours during the busiest hours of the day was saved.

Officials in Multnomah County are considering implementing a nurse navigation program, Roncarati said, but they couldn’t talk about when it would be operational.

He said it could take 6 to 12 months to fully implement the program in a new city.

Rocco Roncarati and Marlow Macht I talked to “Think Out Loud” is hosted by Dave Miller. Click play to listen to the entire speech:

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