One morning last week, an alarm went off at Bloomington Fire Station 1. Seek help at home on 96th Street.
Fire Chief Ulie Seal squinted at the address on the oversized monitor on the office wall.
“Aren’t we just there?”
In the past, a firefighter used to help an elderly woman down the stairs to get to an appointment, another firefighter told Seal. I needed help, and there was no one to call 911.
While not for all emergencies, the surge in medical calls is stressing fire departments serving sprawling and aging suburban communities. It accounts for 70-85% of calls annually, and that percentage is growing. At the same time, departments are facing staff shortages and are under pressure to do more with less. Twenty years ago Bloomington had her 155 part-time firefighters. Today the roster is just over 100.
“We play whack-a-mole,” Seal said. “We say we run around and put out fires, but we actually do.”
Across Metro, departments are trying to catch up by increasing headcount. Maplewood is seeking federal funding to begin hiring. Bloomington and Golden Valley are shifting firefighters from part-time to full-time so they can attract enough numbers. Bloomington is building a new fire station to accommodate long-hours firefighters.
We are also working to prevent non-emergency calls. Through departmental partnerships with community health agencies, St. Louis Park reduces non-emergency calls to 911 by providing health care and other assistance for firefighters to keep residents independent and healthy.
Chief Steve Calling said it started with people who needed help after a fall. they will fall again. and again.
“How many times must someone go there before they do something?” Calling said. “If you pick them off the floor and expect someone else to fix the problem, your call volume will continue to grow.”
Ten years ago, Koering answered many calls, such as one from a woman in Bloomington who needed help climbing stairs. After her discharge from the hospital, she got a call from someone who didn’t understand all the doctor’s orders. Some people find that calling 911 is the easiest way to get medical care.
Koering worked with staff at the city’s Park Nicollet clinic to have firefighters visit patients after they were discharged to ask them what they needed to do to recover, that they had enough food, that they had enough. launched a program to see if there is food for their home was safe. Calling said people who were visited tended to make fewer 911 calls.
“What made it work was the intrinsic trust that the community had in firefighters,” he said.
In 2016, the fire department partnered with Care Resource Connections, a non-profit organization in Otsego, to form the Community Health Alliance to further the firefighter visitation program. After discharge or after her 911 call, firefighters visit the patient to check in and ask if she is willing to connect to resources. If they agree, the firefighter will pass on what she knows to her social worker of Care Her Resource Connection. A social worker loops through the person’s doctor to arrange assistance ranging from regular rides to food in her pantry to mental health care for her.
Six years later, this approach seems to work. People who used to call 911 daily, or he said multiple times a day, rarely called, Koering said. Neighboring cities see 5 to 7 percent more 911 calls for him each year, but St. Louis his park calls have declined by 1 to 1.5 percent each year over the past five years, he said.
The model is starting to spread. North Dakota’s West Fargo worked with St. Louis Park and the North Dakota health agency to replicate the Health Alliance, Koering said. Hopkins is considering joining the St. Louis Parks program, and Duluth and Fridley are considering similar partnerships.
Other Twin Cities metro communities, on the other hand, have their own approach. Brooklyn Park fire inspectors are meeting people at their homes to discuss safety and build rapport. Maplewood is educating residents about fall prevention and partnering with community paramedics who can connect patients to continuum of care.
“There’s a big element to being proactive,” says Maplewood chief Michael Mondor.
Koering said the St. Louis Parks approach isn’t always cost-saving, saying, “You need resources to connect them to resources.”
While city funds pay for staff and firefighter time, the program received a grant from Park Nicollette this year. And a wave of retirees means St. Louis Park still needs to hire firefighters.
The real benefit, says Koering, is that the city’s support helps residents stay healthy and independent.
“It’s really a quality of life debate.”
