Last year in El Cajon, California’s first Nurse Navigation program began transferring non-life threatening medical 911 phone calls to a licensed nurse instead of dispatching an ambulance or the fire department.
The move saved patients thousands of dollars in medical expenses. After seeing success in El Cajon, the program is expanding to cities across East County.
Nurse Navigation, which went live on Jan. 31, 2023, is a partnership between El Cajon, American Medical Response and Heartland Fire & Rescue. Since then, it has connected more than 750 911 callers to the appropriate level of care, which has reduced patient demand in hospitals, according to Global Medical Response.
AMR’s Nurse Navigators are licensed in California, have professional experience in emergency nursing, and are trained to manage 911 medical calls.
“Nurse Navigation is an incredibly effective tool for providing 911 callers with the most appropriate care for non-emergency medical conditions,” Bent Koch, Heartland Fire & Rescue chief, said in a release.
For urgent and potential or life-threatening 911 calls, an ambulance and the fire department will be dispatched. But for callers with non-life threatening conditions, they have the option — at no cost — to connect to an AMR Nurse Navigator, who can aid in finding the needed treatment.
The program has reached La Mesa and Lemon Grove, so far, under the name “EMS Nurse Navigation Program.” It is expected to expand to the Grossmont Healthcare District, including Santee and the San Diego County, San Miguel, Alpine, Lakeside and Bonita-Sunnyside fire protection districts.
With the expansion, more than 600,000 residents now have access to the program.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to work with fire chiefs and health care officials here in San Diego’s East County to expand this important service to more communities,” Paul Forney, San Diego’s AMR regional director, said in a release.
The program in El Cajon, known as El Cajon Community Care, has seen success since its launch.
Of the 776 callers who were connected to a Nurse Navigator, 297 did not require an emergency response or visit to the emergency room, saving them thousands of dollars in expenses.
More than 230 of the 297 were treated in their homes either through self-care instruction, a visit from a Mobile Urgent Care unit or virtually through a telemedicine call.
From February 2023 through September 2024, the El Cajon Community Care program saved roughly $735,000 in emergency care costs.
“We look forward to seeing how the expansion of the Nurse Navigation program will help ensure that those we serve have access to the most appropriate level of care for their medical needs,” said Jon Jordan, the division chief of the Lakeside Fire Protection District.