EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso Fire Department’s (EPFD) Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) team, a group of 12 community paramedics, has been helping close the gap in healthcare services for Borderland residents struggling with “social determinants of health” since its inception in 2021.
El Paso’s Community Health Battalion Chief Joe Ortiz, explained “social determinants” as many people who lack access to basic health care services for one reason or another.
This, he said, was highlighted during the Covid 19-Pandemic, when the EPFD realized many people needed homebound vaccinations, as they didn’t have the ability to go seek those services.
This prompted EPFD to establish their MIH team and has since expanded their impact on the borderland’s overall health system.
“As we identify those individuals who are calling 911 on a frequent basis, what we do is we go out and meet with them, offer them services and try to determine exactly what they need. Is it the hospital? Is it food on wheels? Is it, you know, veterans services and those types of things? So when we give them those resources, what they tend to do is that the 9-1-1 calls stop,” said Ortiz.
Unlike paramedics who respond to emergency calls, the MIH team cannot be requested for their services, but they instead analyze the city’s overall healthcare system to identify individuals who frequently call 9-1-1, specifically more than four times per year, who may not actually need immediate emergency services.
MIH paramedics then make contact with these individuals to try and figure out what their needs are and what services they can provide or locate for them.
This then opens the opportunity for these people to enroll in the High-Volume Utilizer 90-day program with MIH paramedics, who can assist them in finding the resources they need during that period, or beyond that.
Ortiz explained that an MIH paramedic’s tasks require more than just their technical skills.
“It really takes a person that is very inquisitive and is able to connect those dots with those resources that are out in the community. El Paso has an abundance of resources, but trying to determine where they are? That’s what we specialize in, trying to form those bonds with those other agencies,” said Ortiz.
MIH Paramedic Tim Shaughnessy worked for 16 years as a firefighter before transitioning to this position, which he said provides unique opportunities.
“When we transport somebody to the hospital, it’s very quick. We don’t really get to know them. But in this environment, this program really offers us an opportunity to get to know people at a deeper level. So a lot of times they’re very grateful for the help that we’ve provided, and we love to see them thriving and doing better than they were before we met them,” said Shaughnessy.
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