Detroit Fire Department outlines nurse-navigation pilot to triage low‑priority 911 calls

The Detroit Fire Department told the City Council’s Public Health & Safety Committee on June 16 that it plans to launch a nurse-navigation program to divert low-priority 911 medical calls to nurses who can triage, schedule urgent-care visits or arrange telehealth instead of dispatching an ambulance.

"We see approximately 25% of our requests are low priority," said Derek Hellman, second deputy commissioner of the Detroit Fire Department. The department estimated roughly 150,000 911 calls a year with about one-quarter considered nonemergent; staff said diverting those calls can reduce crew fatigue and free ambulances for true emergencies.

Under the plan presented, dispatchers will triage incoming calls and transfer low-priority medical calls to a contracted nurse who will perform a quality check on the call, determine whether the caller can be served via telehealth or urgent care, schedule transport when needed, or return the call to 911 if the situation is a true emergency.

Department officials said they are in a Q3 bid-review process to select a vendor, plan a contract by Q4 and aim to begin a pilot in January. The department also said some providers include telephone-based translation services covering up to 200 languages to serve non-English speakers.

Member Waters and other council members asked about vendor details, language access, and coordination with existing health-department programs that provide rides for expecting mothers; staff said they will return with vendor specifics and more operational detail before rollout.

No formal committee action was required at the presentation; the chair thanked department leadership and indicated staff will return with further details as the procurement process advances.