BCEHS Community Paramedicine Program Final Evaluation Report

This final evaluation report of the outputs and outcomes achieved by the Community Paramedicine program (CP) is clearly a “good news” story. As of January 2019, 104 skilled and knowledgeable Community Paramedics (CPs) are providing primary care services1 to people in remote and rural British Columbia (BC) communities. Almost 1,600 patients have been serviced and over 19,600 home visits have been conducted. They have accomplished the following:
▪ Served 83 of 99 eligible rural/remote communities;
▪ Cared for 1,597 “unique” rural/remote BC residents;
▪ Conducted 19,671 home-visits;
▪ Responded to 346 acute calls (911) while on CP shifts.
Since its inception in 2015, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) leads the project and has created a support infrastructure to facilitate program advancement, and long-term effectiveness and sustainability. Components of this infrastructure includes the following:
▪ Partnerships - with BC Ministry of Health, regional health authorities2, Ambulance Paramedics of BC (CUPE Local 873), communities and local health care teams;
▪ “Orientation” – Online and in-person pre-service training components to enable CPs to learn the new knowledge and gain the skills and confidence required;
▪ CP Mentors – twenty-one (21) experienced individuals provide ongoing support to CPs in the field;
▪ CP Management Team;
▪ Systems for evaluation to enable evidence-based decisions regarding improvement, and to demonstrate outcomes for accountability.
Since inception (2015) as the Community Paramedicine Initiative, there were two primary objectives: 1. Contribute to the stabilization of paramedic staffing in rural and remote communities.
2. Bridge health service delivery gaps identified in collaboration with local primary care teams.
The CP Delivery Goal is to be consistent with Quadruple Aim.3
The focal population has been persons age 65+ with one or more of the priority conditions below. In brackets are the key activities associated with the condition:
▪ Heart Failure (monitoring blood pressure, pulse, weight);
▪ COPD (oxygen saturation, medication self-management support);
▪ Diabetes (physical assessment, medication self-management; support, vitals and head-to-toe checks) to contribute to stabilization4; and
▪ At-risk for falls (risk assessment and home safety screening).