Multiple fire departments in Lake County have launched a program aimed at reducing 911 calls from people who routinely call for an ambulance in non-emergency situations.
The Wauconda Fire District created a Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) program in August in conjunction with the Round Lake, Antioch, Countryside, and Libertyville fire departments.
Wauconda Fire District Lt. Erik Christensen said the program is a proactive and preventative approach to prehospital care.
An MIH program identifies patients who are chronically ill and use 911 services and the hospital emergency department as their primary level of care.
Christensen said the goal is to identify those who are chronically ill and high utilizers of the 911 system.
Once identified, the fire department will provide treatment and intervention to the patients in an attempt to decrease 911 calls and hospital emergency department use.
“We accomplish this by using specially trained paramedics that form the backbone of our fire departments to provide this proactive program to patients who need it the most,” Christensen said.
The goal of the program is to provide care with the intent of improving the patient’s specific health needs and overall quality of life.
“The fire service is uniquely positioned to provide this service because of our high level of trust, integrity, and community engagement with our residents and patients,” Christensen said.
The fire district began researching high-use patients in 2018 and found the ones who routinely call 911 typically suffer from diabetes, heart failure, COPD, or frequent falls.
Christensen said that research showed the number one reason for 911 calls was for fall victims.
Paramedics would arrive at the patient’s homes and realize what was causing the avoidable falls.
Paramedics routinely see the same patients and bring them to the hospital for the same reasons, at which point they are discharged from the hospital before the cycle repeats itself.
Christensen said paramedics see some people multiple times a week or even one to two times a day.
MIH started in the United States in the rural setting after the Affordable Care Act and has since been expanding into suburban and urban areas.
The MIH program in Lake County will allow the fire departments to transition from being reactive to proactive.
“Let’s identify the target population and treat them proactively,” Christensen said, adding that the program aims to address physical and safety issues inside patients’ homes that could contribute to their situation.
Some high-use 911 users lack food in their fridges or transportation to their doctors’ appointments, while others have blood sugar issues. “A lot of patients don’t know that resources exist,” Christensen said.
The five fire departments involved in the MIH program cover 175 square miles in Lake County with a population of 175,000.
The program is currently funded by grants from the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County, Lake County Community Foundation, Granger Foundation, Advocate Community Health, and ARPA funding distributed by the Lake County Board.
A new Illinois law going into effect in January 2026 will allow fire departments to be reimbursed by insurance companies for providing MIH services.