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Owen County commissioners back county EMS to pursue mobile integrated health pilot
Summary
County EMS official Chris outlined a five-year Mobile Integrated Health pilot funded by Indiana Rural Health with a $200,000 first-year award and $100,000 annually for years 2–5; commissioners gave him the board's blessing to present the plan to the county council.
Owen County commissioners on May 10 authorized county EMS to pursue a five-year Mobile Integrated Health pilot and to present the proposed program to the county council.
Chris, an Owen County EMS official, told the board Mobile Integrated Health (also called community paramedicine) places a trained paramedic in regular contact with high-use patients to check medication adherence, remove trip hazards and connect residents with services by phone or telemedicine. "The first year would be $200,000," he said, "and second, third, fourth and fifth year would be a $100,000" annual award, with the first-year funding used to buy a vehicle and equipment.
The program would be funded through a federal grant administered by the Indiana Rural Health Association, Chris said. He added that equipment and the vehicle would become county property after the grant term, but the county would likely be responsible for any employee costs if it chose to continue the position after the grant ends.
Commissioners asked about liability, reimbursement and sustainability. One commissioner worried about who would hold liability if a home visit missed a serious condition; Chris said telemedicine interactions would involve a doctor making the care decisions and that emergency 911 runs would continue to be handled by standard EMS responses. He described ongoing efforts to secure billing codes (ICD-10) and hospital or insurer contributions that could help sustain the service.
The board unanimously approved a motion to allow Chris to present the proposal to the county council and to seek the council's backing at its Monday meeting, so the project can proceed through the council's approval and budget process.
What happens next: Chris will present the grant-funded proposal to the county council; commissioners said grant and budget details (including exact start date and fund accounting) will be finalized with council staff and the Indiana Rural Health Association before the program begins on Jan. 1 if approved.
