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Wakulla County fire chief: community paramedic program now live; EMS calls shifting as staff added
Summary
Fire and EMS leadership told commissioners engine 3 is in service, staffing increased, and the county's community paramedic program is officially live; the program aims to reduce low-acuity transports through prevention and education including fall-prevention and bystander CPR training.
Wakulla County fire and emergency medical services officials told the Board the county's community paramedic program is officially live and could reduce low-acuity ambulance transports while expanding prevention and education services.
Public Safety Director and Fire Chief Louie Lamarche told commissioners "Biggest thing that changed this budget year was we did get engine 3 in service on the East side of the county. It's fully staffed. So now we have, 54 first responders, which which is 18 per shift." He said the department has five administrative staff, eight volunteers and eight flex on-call staff, and that adding engine 3 has raised fire call volumes while easing EMS workload.
Chief Lamarche and EMS leaders described the community paramedic (CP) program as focused on treatment without transport, social assessments, fall prevention and education including CPR training. "As of today, live. Officially live," Chief Altman said when announcing the CP program's operational start. Department presenters said the program's early measures show fewer "dry runs" (calls that do not result in transport) and slightly higher transports overall because of better triage and targeted interventions.
Officials said fall-prevention work is a priority: last calendar year the county responded to 534 fall-related calls. Staff noted social and home-environment risk factors that CP visits will address, such as oxygen tubing trip hazards and medication reconciliation. Chief Lamarche said the county's bystander CPR rate is about 31 percent and expressed a goal to push community education to increase that toward 50 percent, referencing research linking higher bystander CPR rates to better cardiac-arrest survival.
Presenters described partnerships being cultivated for the program, including the local health department, HCA Tallahassee and area home-health and hospice providers; staff said those partnerships will help fill gaps in post-acute care navigation. Chief Lamarche said trials to date included about 15 patients and roughly 30 referrals pending outreach for the coming month.
Board members asked how referrals are made; officials said referrals come from hospitals, primary-care providers and internal channels and that Chief Altman will accept contacts for referrals. Medical leadership introduced Dr. Coby Redfield as the new medical director, who was welcomed by officials: "I'm really excited to jump in here with these guys," Redfield said.
Department leaders also updated the board on radios, training, staffing and the planned training facility. The radio upgrade received positive feedback from staff and testing, with minor technical observations noted.
No formal votes were required for the presentation. Commissioners thanked EMS staff and sponsors for recent community events supporting first responders.
