The McLeod Health Foundation has received $261,850 from The Duke Endowment to establish a community paramedicine program in Marlboro County.
According to a news release, these grants support the mission of McLeod Health, which is to improve the overall health and well-being of people living within South Carolina and eastern North Carolina by providing excellence in health care.
The goal of the program is to help those with chronic illnesses have better management. Patients who have been to the Emergency Department four times in a single year for conditions related to a chronic illness — such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and hypertension — will be visited at home by a paramedic.
The first visit will occur within 72 hours of discharge, and regular home visits will continue for up to one year to ensure that the patient is following their discharge plan and properly managing his or her chronic condition. If the patient is compliant for approximately two months, the patient will be discharged from the program. In addition, patients will be connected with a primary care physician if they do not have one.
The community paramedic will monitor patients’ vitals, and will ensure that they are taking medicine properly, visiting a primary care physician, eating and exercising properly, and otherwise effectively managing their illnesses. The community paramedic will serve as a contact for program participants by facilitating a telemedicine virtual visit, from the patient’s home, connecting them to a McLeod Primary Care Provider. Having the ability to first contact the community paramedic will significantly reduce non-emergency 911 calls and visits to the Emergency Department.
“We are fortunate to have the support of The Duke Endowment,” said Jill Bramblett, executive director of the McLeod Health Foundation. “With their help, we are striving to build healthier communities and continuing to develop the outstanding health care that McLeod has been a leader in for more than a century.”