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WESLACO — The Weslaco Fire Department has partnered with Knapp Medical Center to launch a new patient-centered initiative focused on addressing social isolation while making care more accessible.

The Community Healthcare Program will include home visits and follow-up phone calls to check on participating patients in Weslaco and Progreso.

Antonio Lopez, Weslaco fire chief and assistant city manager, explained that the fire department had been working on the program for about 12 years with their efforts focused on finding the funding to create the initiative.

They were awarded a $100,000 grant by the Knapp Community Care Foundation to officially launch the program.

“Because we are running a pilot program in our first year, everything that we’re doing is covered by the grant so it’s free 100%, not even a charge to the insurance companies right now,” Lopez said.

The program will serve patients who meet certain medical criteria including patients with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, end-stage renal disease and diabetes patients who need wound care or are recovering from a diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) crisis.

Other qualifying patients include those who are recovering from a stroke, sepsis or are at risk for falling or other similar circumstances.

Lopez explained the idea for the program came after the department found that a majority of the calls they received were EMS calls.

Similar to other fire departments across the nation, 75% of the calls the department receives are EMS calls while only 25% of calls are fire related.

With that in mind, the fire department wanted to create a program that would focus on being proactive rather than reactive.

Although there are other community paramedicine programs across the country, Lopez explained they wanted their program to be “a little different,” from the rest.

“Ours is not as clinical heavy based,” Lopez said. “We wanted to make sure that we created something that was going to help us fight, of course, the clinical aspect of it, but also fight the social isolation of the elderly (and) people that don’t have anybody to lean on.”

He added that 75% of their EMS calls are often reassurance calls from elderly folks just needing someone to check up on them or even just someone to talk to.

Lopez explained that oftentimes their EMS is the only point of contact for some residents.

For Weslaco Mayor Adrian Gonzalez, the priority is to help bridge the gap in medical care and let people know they’re not alone.

“This is a program that I’m just extremely excited about and I’m excited for because this is a way that we can be there for our community and make sure that they’re heard and that they have someone that they can talk to or ask questions,” Gonzalez said with a soft smile.

There are two ways for a patient to enroll in the program with the first being through the hospital.

When a patient is being discharged from Knapp Medical Center, medical staff will assess if the patient meets the criteria for the program. If so, they will discuss the services with the patient.

If the patient wishes to participate in the program, they will be enrolled and added to the case load.

The other enrollment path is determined by the daily ambulance calls. Crew members will identify a patient by the number of repeated visits and if they show signs of needing additional support.

Once enrolled, the fire department will do an initial visit to assess the patient’s home for any potential safety hazards or assistance needed like a ramp or handrails.

Should any repairs or additions need to be made, the city will reach out to their faith-based coalition to provide additional assistance for patients.

After the assessment, the patient will be placed on a priority scale to determine how often a paramedic will visit the patient.

A paramedic will be in charge of checking a patient’s blood pressure and blood sugar, help order more medications if the patient needs it, as well as review doctor orders with the patient.

David Cuellar, captain of the EMS training division, explained that the goal of the program is to lower patient hospital re-admission, reduce the number of EMS calls and to help patients be able to take care of themselves.

A patient will remain enrolled in the program for 30 days or more depending on paramedic assessment before graduating from the program.

Throughout the program Knapp Medical Center will help the department with case management as well as assist when a paramedic is unavailable.

“On days when the medic can’t visit, patients receive a phone call from a Knapp discharge planner, who checks up on them and reminds them of the importance of following up with their primary care physician,” stated the news release.

The discharge planner will help answer patient questions and relay messages or information to the patient’s physician.

The program also uses a secure healthcare communication platform called Leading Reach to “enhance” communication between physicians, the hospital, paramedics and emergency medical technicians, or EMTs.

After each patient visit the paramedic will upload a report on a patient’s status that can then be viewed by the hospital and physician.

“… When they (paramedics) attach that report they (doctors) are able to see and tweak the patient’s medications or their next visit,” Cuellar said, adding that the program helps create a network of communication to stay on top of a patient’s health.

Since the program’s start on June 1, Cuellar explained the patients have really taken ownership of the crew and paramedics that visit them.

In fact, some patients wait for their paramedics with coffee and pan dulce ready for them.

“They really take ownership of the guys that are going and seeing them. They build that relationship with the Weslaco Fire Department and our medics,” Cuellar said, adding that patients often refer to them as “my medic.”

Throughout the year the department will be collecting data to determine the impact of the program.

Gonzalez hopes the program will continue to grow and eventually implement mental health services.

“We try to work as a team, we try to provide as many resources that we can possibly provide for our community and for our constituents that way if they ever need something it’s available to them,” Gonzalez said.