By Cecilia Nasmith

Following the December Colborne visit by Minister of Health Christine Elliott to announce that the Northumberland collaboration had been certified as one of Ontario's first 24 Ontario Health Teams, Northumberland MPP David Piccini was in Cobourg Friday to announce a grant in support of one of its first initiatives – Community Paramedicine.

More than $340,000 has been given to launch this program in front of an audience of municipal officials and representatives of the many community agencies behind the local OHT.

This initiative will ease the strain on hospitals posed by a county with many rural residents and an older demographic than the Ontario average.

In fact, about 80% of ambulance calls in Northumberland are for those aged 60 and over, a demographic whose growth rate is expected to be greater than that of any other. And because so many of them live in rural and remote areas, they face more risks from chronic disease and disability.

It is estimated that a Community Paramedicine program will divert up to 30% of low-acuity calls away from hospital emergency rooms.

As Deputy Warden Bob Crate explained, it works by leveraging the industry-leading pre-hospital skills of Northumberland paramedics to provide what was referred to as an upstream setting – doing their job proactively before a 911 call is warranted by offering illness-prevention and health-promotion services.

This might mean administering a flu shot, conducting a post-injury or illness evaluation or referring someone to the volunteer supports (like Meals On Wheels) that help members of the community remain in their homes.

Rather than being a program designed by bureaucrats, Piccini said, it came about as a result of a grass-roots collaborative effort.

“Ultimately, what it means for the community is better patient-centred care,” he said.

The challenges facing the health-care system require a systemic transformation, he continued, but this kind of work helps bring it about by being sure those who need care get the right level at the right time in the right place.

Piccini complimented Paramedic Chief Bill Detlor.

“You have been a real leader in our community, a strong advocate for quite some time on this file, looking for ways to better support residents of our community upstream,” he said, adding that a ride-along he had with the paramedics a few months ago had made him a better MPP (as well as fulfilling a childhood dream).

Detlor thanked Piccini for his support of the initiative, “designed to improve access to care and enhance connections between patients and their community.”

This will be done through several avenues, such as home visits for those known to call emergency services frequently to consider a range of pre-emptive services (such as checking to ensure they are taking their medications regularly).

These visits will also provide the means for education about chronic-disease management and referral to such local supports as diabetes-education teams. Or they might benefit from the range of volunteer services offered by Community Care Northumberland.

“It provides a more co-ordinated continuum of care, while reducing 911 calls and unnecessary emergency-room visits,” Detlor said.

“I am extremely excited about this opportunity to take this active role in improving our health-care outcomes as well as the patient and caregiver experience.”

A backgrounder provided by Northumberland County said that year one of the program will target populations that include frail elderly individuals, those with mental-health or substance-addiction issues, homeless individuals and those receiving palliative care.

Services will be delivered across three program areas.

Remote monitoring – Using Bluetooth-enabled technology in a patient's home to capture such vital signs as blood-sugar level, blood pressure and heart rate for upload to a cloud, then monitored daily.

Mobile clinics – Wellness clinics for community members who cannot access care effectively due to such barriers as mobility and socio-economic status.

Home visits and assessments – For follow-up care, based on referrals from community partners such as the Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Network, Community Care Northumberland and mental-health services. Referrals will be accepted 24/7 by two dedicated paramedics.

Piccini said Community Paramedicine is one of the four priority areas identified early in the OHT-Northumberland process, The other three are digitalization of information and care, a volunteer initiative to leverage the volunteer network most judiciously, and an outreach clinic in Colborne that should be open in the spring.

To keep up-to-date on the paramedicine program, as well as other initiatives of the OHT-Northumberland, visit www.ohtnorthumberland.ca.