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County funds two‑year pilot to add community health workers to Fire Rescue program
Summary
The commission authorized two years of startup funding for three community health workers embedded in Alachua County Fire Rescue’s mobile integrated health program and asked staff to continue partnership and sustainability planning with health systems and a potential clinical network.
The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners on March 24 approved startup funding for a two‑year pilot to place community health workers (CHWs) inside the county’s Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) team, County Chief of Fire Rescue Harold Diaz said.
Carter Wilson of the Camden Coalition described a model that pairs CHWs with Fire Rescue responses to people with complex health and social needs; CHWs will connect residents to benefits, housing, care planning and provide health coaching, while helping providers coordinate care. Wilson said Camden’s experience shows CHWs can reduce repeated 911 calls for some of the county’s highest‑utilizing residents and recommended a two‑year planning and pilot period: hiring and training three CHWs, measuring reach/quality/impact, then returning with a sustainability proposal.
Why it matters: Commissioners emphasized the potential to reduce emergency calls and help residents navigate services during Medicaid redetermination and other coverage changes. The CHWs would extend Fire Rescue’s care model and aim to improve outcomes for frequent users of emergency services.
Funding and next steps: Chief Diaz said about $835,000 already identified in the current budget could support the first two years. The board asked staff to vet contracting options with a clinically integrated network and to ensure legal and procurement reviews before any agreements. Staff will return with detailed EAF (budget) requests, job classifications, and an end‑of‑year‑2 sustainability proposal.
Ending: Commissioners approved the pilot and directed staff to continue community and health‑system engagement and to bring back required budget and contracting items.
