Community Paramedicine program aims to keep chronic illness patients out of emergency

Paramedics are trained to provide medical care in dire situations.

But a new program in Sudbury has paramedics making house calls before anything gets serious.

The Community Paramedicine program, which aims to keep people at home and out of the emergency room, allows paramedics to visit patients with chronic and complex illnesses without the prompt of a 911 call.

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That means there will be fewer patients jamming up the emergency department, said Commander of Community Paramedicine Jennifer Amyotte.

Amyotte said the aging population means a growing number of patients will need this kind of service. 

We can get there and it's a simple treatment plan to increase medication for a day or two and then they feel quite well after that.- Garry Lauzon, Sudbury paramedic

"Already the health care system is strained and there's going to be a huge influx of people with chronic disease," she said.

Garry Lauzon, a paramedic with the program, said he deals with a lot of respiratory problems in Sudbury. He said most patients have diabetes, heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

He said the paramedics will assist patients in situations where "they're having a little bit more difficulty to breathe, they're beginning to start a cough" and treat them over a period of several days to "hopefully avoid something that would become more serious and then they end up in the hospital."

"The thing I hear the most of is the security of knowing when they are feeling unwell, they can call us where we can come visit them within a day or two to see what's going on. The help of just somebody explaining to them how to use their medications or nutritional needs and being able to point them in the direction of people that specialize in those different needs and be able to refer them to those programs," he said.

Small step, huge difference

Lauzon said the paramedics carry insulin and other medications for chronic diseases to treat patients in their homes with the consultation of a physician. He said the program has helped patients "a lot," especially those with respiratory problems.

​"We can get there and it's a simple treatment plan to increase medication for a day or two and then they feel quite well after that and we can avoid developing pneumonia or a serious chronic condition," he said.

The Community Paramedicine program has made over 180 home visits since it began in January. Another program that focuses on education and teaching people how to manage their health will soon launch.

​NDP heath critic France Gelinas commended the provincial Liberal government for doubling funding for home care, but said the patchwork approach is often frustrating for patients. 

"Depending which door you happen to knock on at the time, you end up with a different provider, a different set of rules, and different sets of services," she said.

The maze has to be sorted out, Gelinas said, so that it's more efficient and the proper services are going to people who need them.

In the meantime, a small step can make a huge difference.

Lauzon said that's the gratification he gets for doing his job.

"From my past experiences of showing up when somebody's severely, severely ill, to what I do now and show up and make a big difference over something as small as decreasing the amount of water you drink that day for a day or two and it changes their complete condition," he said.