Headline
This toolkit provides health care stakeholders in rural areas with practical information to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of community paramedicine programs.
Context
The Rural Community Paramedicine Toolkit is an educational tool that can assist health care stakeholders — including providers, local and county governments, and community-based organizations — in learning how to build and sustain a community paramedic program in rural areas. Expanding these mobile programs can increase access to primary care and reduce emergency resource utilization for rural communities, where there is limited access to health care.
About this Tool
This tool can support rural health care stakeholders in:
- Understanding the types of community paramedicine services, benefits of establishing these programs, and barriers to establishing them;
- Exploring promising models of community paramedicine that serve different aims, including increasing prevention services, improving access to primary care, enhancing post-discharge follow-up care, reducing emergency resources utilization, and increasing social service referrals;
- Exploring implementation considerations, including around organizational buy-in/partnerships, community health assessment, training; population considerations, broadband access, patient referrals, and program staff;
- Exploring data collection and evaluation considerations;
- Planning for sustainability, including defining sustainability and strategies for sustainment; and
- Learning about ways to communicate and disseminate program results.
Takeaways
Health care providers and government officials in rural areas can use this toolkit to understand more about how community paramedicine programs can increase access to care for underserved communities. The tool offers guidance on how to establish and sustain some promising models of community paramedicine programs.