CMH to establish new program with $1.8M in grants

Citizens Memorial Hospital is creating a mobile integrated health care program via grant funding.

The Bolivar health care system announced the new unit yesterday in a news release. It's funded by $1.8 million in federal grants.

The program will provide in-home, nonemergency care to high-risk patients through community paramedics. The grant funding pays for the recruitment and training of emergency medical technicians and specialized training for paramedics to become certified community paramedics.

“The goal is a reduction of people being readmitted to the hospital,” said Aaron Weaver, director of Emergency Medical Services at CMH. “It’s healthier for our patients and healthier for our system.”

Community paramedics do not replace emergency medical technicians and paramedics responding to emergency calls. The nonemergency service helps to educate patients on care they can receive outside of the hospital.

The largest grant, $1.5 million, comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration, according to the release.