Fire Territory's CARES Program Growing
October 5, 2021 at 11:54 p.m.
Fire Territory's CARES Program Growing
By David [email protected]
During the WWFT Board meeting Tuesday, the CARES program was a part of the discussion on several agenda items.
Fire Chief Mike Wilson, who is a part of the program with EMS Chief Chris Fancil, first brought CARES up during his August response report. Under “Emergency Medical Response,” a new line for CARES Calls was added. He said he and Fancil made six calls in August working with people.
“September was quite busy, and we’ve already started off October and we’re swamped. So, that program is going well,” Wilson said.
Another part of the August report detailed the events the WWFT was a part of.
“We were quite busy. You’ll see that we worked with about 387 different people throughout the whole month of August, and I will note that one of those was a CARES event with the COVID-19 shot clinic out at Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Wilson said. “We have a good working relationship with Kosciusko County Health Department. We’re out doing those shot clinics any time we have the opportunity to do that.”
WWFT Board member and City Councilman Mike Klondaris asked Wilson to further elaborate on the CARES program for anyone watching the meeting online who might not be familiar with it.
“The CARES program is our initiative to assist those in need of mental health (help). Those individuals who are repeat customers as far as slip and falls, individuals who just got out of the hospital and don’t understand what needs to be done medically. It’s the domestic issues where people are amped up. Chris and I work diligently with law enforcement to de-escalate those situations,” Wilson explained. “This is new. There’s training that’s coming for our department individuals to come along with us in this partnership.”
He said it’s a partnership with multiple agencies, including Bowen Center, Warsaw Police Department, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office and Lutheran EMS.
“We’re doing the defusion part. It’s very simple: What can we do today to help you get through this endeavor?” Wilson said.
A CARES response usually stems from a 911 call.
“And if there’s those that are listening that are having some problems and confusion, they can call during the daytime to our office number which is 574-372-9502 and ask to talk to EMS Chief Fancil or the fire chief himself. That way we’ll get them on our list and see what we can do to visit with them,” Wilson said.
He reiterated it’s a very busy, growing program and there’s “more to come” with it.
The CARES program came up again later in the meeting when Fancil asked permission to pursue certification and establishment of a Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) program.
Fancil said CARES is really for those people who are not being served by services currently available.
“So we’ve helped people get wheelchair ramps built. We’ve helped people do safety assessments of their house, pick up loose rugs, things like that that are making them fall,” Fancil said. “Typically, what happens is, a 911 call is made or multiple 911 calls are made. We’ve got some folks we were just dealing with today that have called 911 – we’ve been out there 25 times this year. These are good people who are just not being served by the services that are already there.”
He said they started the CARES program when Mayor Joe Thallemer asked them to do something about the mental health issues in the community, which were aggravated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But at the same time, we thought we could also do more with different resource allocation – try to help people get those resources that they don’t know how to reach out and grab,” Fancil said.
To go along with that, he said the state of Indiana has encouraged EMS services to get into MIH, “meaning they’re partnering with their local facilities – hospitals, mental health providers, things like that – to do follow-up visits, to go out and do vaccinations, to go out and do wellness checks, to go out and do home safety visits, which really it fits right into the CARES program.”
One of the tasks the mayor gave them, Fancil said, was to go out and find out how to financially support the CARES program without draining reserves of money from the fire department, fire territory or city budget.
“What the state came up with was, if you can get certified as a Mobile Integrated Healthcare provider, you can then bill insurance, Medicare, Medicaid for those services. Not necessarily bill the people, but try to recover some of that cost that you’re investing from Medicare, Medicaid, insurance companies,” Fancil explained.
He said the state is just figuring it out and is encouraging them to get certified in MIH.
“We actually are in the process of setting up meetings with both local hospitals to see if we can work in partnership with them as a follow-up,” Fancil said.
If a person gets discharged from the hospital and isn’t really sure what medicines they’re supposed to take and when, he or Wilson could visit with the person and help them through that process, Fancil gave as an example.
He asked the WWFT Board for permission to pursue that MIH certification and then pursue those partnerships with the local hospitals to get the program up and running.
“We think it benefits the entire community and both hospital services all at the same time,” Fancil said. “And if we can recover some of the financial outlay that we have, then that would just make it easier for us to do.”
As of Tuesday this week alone, he said he and Wilson had six or eight CARES responses and “I think we’re going to get busier. We’ve developed great partnerships so far with Bowen Center, with some of the other facilities and services in the community. PD is now asking us to make the scene and talk to certain people.”
Fancil said this community “wants to help people” and there are a lot of people reaching out to help but people “just don’t know how to get there. We think we can help facilitate that.”
WWFT Board member Brandon Schmitt asked if there were other departments that have done this already. Fancil said there were a lot and he’s talked to the EMS chief at South Bend Fire Department.
“They’ve had a program up and running for a while. They initially called it Community Paramedicine. They actually have relationships with their hospitals so when someone gets discharged, they get notified, and then they’ll go out and follow up with that patient. And that’s what we’re hoping that can work into,” Fancil said.
He added that there is grant money out there to get these programs up and running, which they would pursue.
“So far it’s great, but I think we’re dipping our toes in the water and we need to really get in there and start helping folks. What we’ve had so far has been remarkable,” Fancil said.
Schmitt said it sounds like a great program.
The WWFT Board unanimously approved for them to pursue the certification and to meet with local hospitals to pursue partnerships.
During the WWFT Board meeting Tuesday, the CARES program was a part of the discussion on several agenda items.
Fire Chief Mike Wilson, who is a part of the program with EMS Chief Chris Fancil, first brought CARES up during his August response report. Under “Emergency Medical Response,” a new line for CARES Calls was added. He said he and Fancil made six calls in August working with people.
“September was quite busy, and we’ve already started off October and we’re swamped. So, that program is going well,” Wilson said.
Another part of the August report detailed the events the WWFT was a part of.
“We were quite busy. You’ll see that we worked with about 387 different people throughout the whole month of August, and I will note that one of those was a CARES event with the COVID-19 shot clinic out at Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Wilson said. “We have a good working relationship with Kosciusko County Health Department. We’re out doing those shot clinics any time we have the opportunity to do that.”
WWFT Board member and City Councilman Mike Klondaris asked Wilson to further elaborate on the CARES program for anyone watching the meeting online who might not be familiar with it.
“The CARES program is our initiative to assist those in need of mental health (help). Those individuals who are repeat customers as far as slip and falls, individuals who just got out of the hospital and don’t understand what needs to be done medically. It’s the domestic issues where people are amped up. Chris and I work diligently with law enforcement to de-escalate those situations,” Wilson explained. “This is new. There’s training that’s coming for our department individuals to come along with us in this partnership.”
He said it’s a partnership with multiple agencies, including Bowen Center, Warsaw Police Department, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office and Lutheran EMS.
“We’re doing the defusion part. It’s very simple: What can we do today to help you get through this endeavor?” Wilson said.
A CARES response usually stems from a 911 call.
“And if there’s those that are listening that are having some problems and confusion, they can call during the daytime to our office number which is 574-372-9502 and ask to talk to EMS Chief Fancil or the fire chief himself. That way we’ll get them on our list and see what we can do to visit with them,” Wilson said.
He reiterated it’s a very busy, growing program and there’s “more to come” with it.
The CARES program came up again later in the meeting when Fancil asked permission to pursue certification and establishment of a Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) program.
Fancil said CARES is really for those people who are not being served by services currently available.
“So we’ve helped people get wheelchair ramps built. We’ve helped people do safety assessments of their house, pick up loose rugs, things like that that are making them fall,” Fancil said. “Typically, what happens is, a 911 call is made or multiple 911 calls are made. We’ve got some folks we were just dealing with today that have called 911 – we’ve been out there 25 times this year. These are good people who are just not being served by the services that are already there.”
He said they started the CARES program when Mayor Joe Thallemer asked them to do something about the mental health issues in the community, which were aggravated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But at the same time, we thought we could also do more with different resource allocation – try to help people get those resources that they don’t know how to reach out and grab,” Fancil said.
To go along with that, he said the state of Indiana has encouraged EMS services to get into MIH, “meaning they’re partnering with their local facilities – hospitals, mental health providers, things like that – to do follow-up visits, to go out and do vaccinations, to go out and do wellness checks, to go out and do home safety visits, which really it fits right into the CARES program.”
One of the tasks the mayor gave them, Fancil said, was to go out and find out how to financially support the CARES program without draining reserves of money from the fire department, fire territory or city budget.
“What the state came up with was, if you can get certified as a Mobile Integrated Healthcare provider, you can then bill insurance, Medicare, Medicaid for those services. Not necessarily bill the people, but try to recover some of that cost that you’re investing from Medicare, Medicaid, insurance companies,” Fancil explained.
He said the state is just figuring it out and is encouraging them to get certified in MIH.
“We actually are in the process of setting up meetings with both local hospitals to see if we can work in partnership with them as a follow-up,” Fancil said.
If a person gets discharged from the hospital and isn’t really sure what medicines they’re supposed to take and when, he or Wilson could visit with the person and help them through that process, Fancil gave as an example.
He asked the WWFT Board for permission to pursue that MIH certification and then pursue those partnerships with the local hospitals to get the program up and running.
“We think it benefits the entire community and both hospital services all at the same time,” Fancil said. “And if we can recover some of the financial outlay that we have, then that would just make it easier for us to do.”
As of Tuesday this week alone, he said he and Wilson had six or eight CARES responses and “I think we’re going to get busier. We’ve developed great partnerships so far with Bowen Center, with some of the other facilities and services in the community. PD is now asking us to make the scene and talk to certain people.”
Fancil said this community “wants to help people” and there are a lot of people reaching out to help but people “just don’t know how to get there. We think we can help facilitate that.”
WWFT Board member Brandon Schmitt asked if there were other departments that have done this already. Fancil said there were a lot and he’s talked to the EMS chief at South Bend Fire Department.
“They’ve had a program up and running for a while. They initially called it Community Paramedicine. They actually have relationships with their hospitals so when someone gets discharged, they get notified, and then they’ll go out and follow up with that patient. And that’s what we’re hoping that can work into,” Fancil said.
He added that there is grant money out there to get these programs up and running, which they would pursue.
“So far it’s great, but I think we’re dipping our toes in the water and we need to really get in there and start helping folks. What we’ve had so far has been remarkable,” Fancil said.
Schmitt said it sounds like a great program.
The WWFT Board unanimously approved for them to pursue the certification and to meet with local hospitals to pursue partnerships.
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