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Detroit Fire Department outlines nurse‑navigation plan to triage nonemergency 911 calls
Summary
DFD presented a nurse‑navigation program to divert low‑priority 911 calls to nurses for triage, citing 150,000 annual calls with roughly 25% non‑emergent; timeline includes Q3 bid review, Q4 contracting and a January pilot, with translation support and coordination with health agencies.
The Detroit Fire Department on June 16 presented a plan to add nurse navigation to the city's 911 dispatch system to reduce ambulance responses to nonemergency calls and free crews for high‑priority incidents.
Deputy Commissioner Derek Hellman said Detroit receives approximately 150,000 911 calls a year and estimated that roughly 25% of those are low‑priority, nonemergent requests such as minor injuries. Under the proposed model, dispatchers would prioritize calls and transfer low‑priority medical calls to a nurse who would perform triage, provide immediate guidance, coordinate scheduled transport, direct callers to urgent care or telehealth, or route true emergencies back to 911 for an ambulance response.
"This is going to transform the way 911 services are done within the city," Hellman said, noting similar programs operate in Washington, D.C., parts of Washington state and Georgia. He described an implementation timeline: Q3 bid review to select a vendor, contract negotiation in Q4, a pilot beginning in January and a full rollout targeted for spring following a soft launch.
Committee members asked about language access and coordination with other city health services. Hellman said the vendors under consideration include translation capabilities "through their phone" covering up to 200 languages, and he emphasized planned collaboration with the health department and telehealth providers to connect callers to appropriate care. Member Waters described the proposal as "a really good thing" and the chair said the council and city partners would continue to vet vendors and return with more detailed information.
The committee did not vote on the program but requested the department return with vendor details, staffing and quality‑control plans before the formal contracting stage.
Next steps: DFD will complete procurement steps outlined in the presentation; the committee asked for follow‑up briefings when vendors are identified and for additional materials on vendor qualifications, translation capacity and planned public outreach.
