Floods and Heatwaves Rise: Why MIH-CP May Be the Frontline Answer

Table of Contents

• What’s The Best Way to Start in MIH-CP?

• Faster Than the Call: Kawartha Lakes Paramedics Set Bold 2026 Response Targets

• Trivia

• Wausau’s Community Paramedic Heroes Cut 911 Repeats by 65% in Just 9 Months

• A Firefighter’s Plea for Community Care in a Changing Climate

Strategy

What’s The Best Way to Start in MIH-CP?

This is the beginning of a 6-part live event series with the founder of Integrated Care Solutions, Jo Phillips.

Jo worked as the manager of Chesapeake Fire Department’s mobile integrated healthcare program and in this first session she’ll discuss the importance of listening to your local community’s needs.

No matter stage your MIH-CP team is in, this is a can’t-miss opportunity for actionable strategies to align your program with your community’s evolving needs.

Goals

Kawartha Lakes Paramedic Service (KLPS) has set new response goals for 2026 as 911 call volumes continue to rise. At a recent council meeting, Deputy Chief Jamie Golden presented the Response Time Performance Plan, stressing the importance of rapid care in cases like sudden cardiac arrest. The service is already surpassing provincial benchmarks, reaching cardiac arrest patients within six minutes nearly 40% of the time, compared to the 25% target.

KLPS has boosted performance by hiring more paramedics, using mobile ambulance posts, and reallocating crews to high-demand areas. Partnerships with hospitals, including the Designated Offload Nurse and Fit2Sit programs, are helping reduce delays and improve efficiency, while the Community Paramedic Program supports preventative care at home. Looking ahead, KLPS will track performance monthly and expects the new Medical Priority Dispatch System to further strengthen emergency response.

(Scroll to find out what happens when one paramedic can cut 911 calls by nearly two-thirds in less than a year?)

or

Trivia!

Impact

The Wausau Fire Department’s Community Care Paramedic Program, launched early in 2025, has delivered remarkable results in its first nine months, reducing 911 calls from frequent users by an impressive 65%. Community Paramedic Matt Kozloski specializes in non-emergency interventions, working with high-risk individuals facing conditions like diabetes, COPD, heart failure, falls, and substance use challenges. By identifying barriers to care such as medication errors—found in 65% of his patients and connecting clients with appropriate supports, the program has significantly cut repeat emergency visits.

In one case, a patient’s EMS trips dropped from ten to zero after Kozloski’s intervention, highlighting the program’s effectiveness. With around 35 patients currently under his care, from children to older adults, Kozloski emphasizes education on when to call 911 versus seeking alternative care pathways. While discussions are underway to add a second community paramedic, program leaders are choosing to evaluate results through the first year before expanding.

(want to see community paramedicine’s impact during wildfires, heat waves, or evacuations? Read on)

or

Climate Change

A former firefighter reflects on nearly a decade and 7,000 emergency calls in Portland, many of which were for non-life-threatening issues like back pain, diabetes flare-ups, or people simply unable to get off the floor. He highlights that 911 often becomes the default for primary health care and social isolation among vulnerable populations. In rural Clackamas County, community paramedic Jamie Breunig fills those gaps by offering preventive care, disease management, welfare checks, and vaccinations to people who are often overlooked.

Over 90% of her patients are experiencing homelessness, and she delivers care where they live, often in trailers during wildfires, heat waves, or evacuations—when traditional services are out of reach. Zimmerman argues that these programs not only ease strain on overwhelmed emergency systems, but also provide dignified, upstream care that saves lives that might otherwise go uncounted.