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What Counties are Getting Community Paramedicine in 2026?
It's budget season and many counties are proposing bringing community paramedicine to their counties.
Today’s trivia is a freebie
This week, we’re highlighting counties stepping up in the MIH-CP space. How are they introducing community paramedicine to their communities? Read on.
Table of Contents
Trivia!
Who's Logo is This? |
Proposal
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Grand Junction, Colorado is proposing to add three advanced-practice community paramedic positions within its fire department as part of its 2026 budget. The goal is to redirect roughly 30 % of lower-acuity and chronic medical calls away from traditional ambulance/fire engine responses. These paramedics would operate under physician oversight and handle non-emergency runs more appropriately. The plan anticipates reassigning existing personnel rather than hiring entirely new staff. By doing so, officials hope to improve efficiency, save future costs, and maintain service levels.
San Francisco’s fire department reports that emergency ambulances are spending less time handing off patients at hospitals, freeing up crews for more field work. Meanwhile, its community paramedicine unit handled about 1,700 calls in one month, tackling involuntary psychiatric evaluations, referring patients to shelter or stabilization services, and partnering with police on behavioral health interventions.
Examples
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Five strong examples of community paramedicine (MIH-CP) programs: Colorado Springs, Crawfordsville (IN), Durham (NC), Chesapeake (VA), and Tulsa (OK). Each one shows how collaboration, clear goals, and local adaptation can make a measurable impact. Colorado Springs’ CARES model runs diverse outreach efforts for homeless residents, inmates, older adults, and frequent 911 callers.
Crawfordsville emphasizes prevention and partnerships through initiatives like Project Swaddle and chronic disease management. Durham targets non-emergency 911 calls by identifying super-utilizers and connecting them to care. Chesapeake focuses on fall prevention and patient follow-up, while Tulsa’s co-response team has reduced repeat 911 calls by 70 percent. Together these programs demonstrate that success in MIH-CP depends on strong partnerships, community assessments, and data-driven improvement.
New Proposal
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Putnam County has contracted with Empress EMS to launch a community paramedicine and mobile integrated healthcare program, expected to begin by late October, under which paramedics will deliver services directly in patients’ homes instead of transporting non-emergency cases to hospitals.
The move builds on the county’s current $2.8 million annual investment in paramedic services, which was the first of its kind in New York to centralize paramedic funding at the county level. Under the new model, paramedics’ responsibilities will expand to include public health outreach, preventive care, and primary care services—particularly aimed at seniors and homebound residents.
County officials say the approach should reduce pressure on emergency systems while improving access to care for non-urgent medical needs. The initiative is intended as a pilot, with hopes it will yield cost savings and more efficient use of emergency resources.
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