2024 ANNUAL REPORT - Final

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EMERGENCY SERVICES

Emergency Medical Services Office (continued)

Mobile Community Healthcare

The Mobile Community Healthcare (MCH) Program is an integrated, collaborative effort that is designed to provide resources to the visitors and residents of Frederick County through two specialty programs, including the Community Paramedicine program and the Community Outreach and Support Team (COAST). These two programs work effectively together to improve the health and wellness of those who reside in Frederick County. The MCH Program staff receive referrals from a multitude of partners, with a great majority originating from Fire/Rescue personnel. In 2024, Fire/Rescue personnel made referrals to the MCH Program 466 times, one time more than 2023. Of these referrals, clinicians remained most concerned about their patient’s lack of adequate self care (reported 233 times), as well as their patient’s general lack of resources (reported 193 times). Additionally, for the third consecutive year, clinicians overwhelmingly identified an inability to complete activities of daily living as a leading factor in making the referrals (192 times), but also identified substance use, physical environment concerns, and loneliness and social isolation as contributing factors as well. In 2024, one member of the Mobile Community Healthcare Program retired, and a new member was brought onboard to complete the training process. Together, MCH Program personnel were dispatched to 51 Community Paramedicine incidents to provide direct interventions, avoiding the need to transport those patients to a hospital. Additionally, MCH staff assisted numerous other patients through telephonic outreach, care team collaboration, and coordination with community partners to address needs identified through referrals. Participants in this program received a comprehensive assessment of their social determinants of health, and interventions related to home safety recommendations and referrals to other allied health and community partners.

The COAST Program, which is a collaboration between the Frederick County Health Department and Frederick County Fire Rescue, received grant funding in 2023 from both the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, totaling nearly $2 million. In 2024, this funding was used to fully support the operational and educational needs of the program. The Overdose Response Training Program provides members with a four-hour

overview on the neurobiology of addiction, prevalent substances in Frederick County, and strategies to enhance the response to calls involving substance use disorder. A total of 15 programs were taught to 348 responders. Grant funding was also used to purchase a response vehicle for the COAST Program, designated as MCH-903. The vehicle has been specially outfitted to fulfill both the support and response roles that are often required of the unit. Progress was made towards the expansion of staffing for the program, with framework established to onboard a mid-level healthcare provider, as well as an additional community paramedic, both expected to start in 2025. Grant-funded efforts also resulted in the distribution of 650 doses of naloxone, 573 drug testing strips, 71 STD Test Kits, 98 wound care kits, 238 personal hygiene kits, and 99 drug disposal bags. In 2024, members of the COAST Program responded to 171 incidents, completed 55 follow up visits, and conducted 76 community outreach efforts, providing 261 referrals related to substance use treatment and recovery resources.

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