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Alachua County Fire Rescue launches grant‑funded mobile integrated health team to expand community care
Summary
The county announced a grant‑funded mobile integrated health (community paramedicine) team to provide post‑EMS intervention, behavioral‑health support, case management and care coordination; the first staff are hired and program partners include community support services and hospital systems.
Alachua County Fire Rescue briefed the Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 12 about a newly funded mobile integrated health team that will deliver community paramedicine services in county neighborhoods.
Chief Harold Theas said the multidisciplinary team — grant‑funded, with no direct county taxpayer dollars for initial operation — includes a captain to lead outreach and operations, a case manager, a mental‑health counselor, peer support specialists, EMTs and paramedics. Staff said the program will take referrals from EMS and emergency departments and aim to reduce unnecessary transports and provide long‑term follow up and referrals for addiction management, chronic disease care and social‑services linkages.
Captain Benware, who will head the team in the field, described HIPAA‑compliant software and coordinated records flows to connect patients to primary care and other providers with patient consent. Commissioners praised the model and asked staff to coordinate with existing community resource centers, maternal‑health initiatives, food‑as‑medicine work, and hospitals.
The county described next steps to integrate community partners and begin field operations; staff said they are ready to expand capacity and will return with operational reports and outcomes measures.
