How Universties Are Quietly Becoming Hubs for Community Paramedicine

Table of Contents:

• Trivia

• From 911 to Prevention: Johnson County’s Mobile-Integrative Health Model Reduces Hospital Burden

• Social Bite

• Community Paramedicine Teams Step into the Opioid Fight: University of Cincinnati Programs Lead the Way in Ohio

• Beyond the Call: Lancaster EMS’ Community Paramedicine Team Delivers Food to Homebound Patients

Read time: 4 minutes

Collaboration

In Johnson County, Iowa, a novel mobile-integrated health program is shifting the paradigm of emergency response by proactively managing at-risk patients in their homes rather than waiting for crises to trigger 911 calls. Mike Mothershed, a community paramedic with the initiative run in collaboration with University of Iowa Health Care, visits clients one-on-one to address medication adherence, home safety, coordination with physicians and other social-health gaps—leading to fewer emergency calls and hospital visits.

Since its launch in February 2024, the program has graduated 18 clients, emphasizing voluntary engagement and motivation to improve one’s health. Although still nascent in Iowa, advocates say mobile integrated health care presents “the right care in the right place,” and could save the system $5–6 for every dollar invested by targeting preventable emergencies. Meanwhile, state regulators are exploring how to formally define and reimburse this care model, signaling potential growth in community paramedicine across the state.

Substance abuse

At the University of Cincinnati, faculty from fire science, social work, medicine, nursing and counseling have partnered to support community-paramedicine and Quick Response Teams (QRTs) aimed at tackling Ohio’s opioid epidemic. In one example, a QRT in Colerain Township visits the homes of individuals recently revived with naloxone, offering transport into treatment and follow-up care. Since July 2015, nearly 250 people received overdose follow-ups and almost 85 percent of them entered some kind of treatment. The Colerain Township program also reported a 35 percent decline in overdoses after more than a year of operation.

The effort highlights how expanding EMS roles into preventive and supportive care can fill gaps in primary care, support recovery, and ease burden on emergency services. If you like, I can pull out more data from the article (e.g., treatment-entry numbers by location) for your whitepaper.

Homebound

Lancaster EMS’s Community Paramedicine program in Lancaster County partners with Lancaster County Food Hub and other food-banks to deliver food packages to homebound patients who lack access to transportation or are otherwise unable to pick up supplies themselves.

The initiative, which began in 2016, now serves over 1,000 patients each month, with 15-20 team members, including licensed practical nurses, making deliveries multiple times a week. Packages typically include non-perishables, meats, boxed goods, and sometimes toiletries like soap, detergent or toothpaste. According to the Food Hub’s executive director, providing the food isn’t the only challenge “getting that food where it needs to go” is key and the EMS team helps bridge that gap.

For the paramedicine team, this work underscores that basic social needs such as food security are deeply intertwined with health outcomes and that their role extends beyond emergency response to community care.