The Houston Fire Department has taken a new approach to handling non-emergency medical calls, aiming to ease the burden on emergency rooms and improve patient care. According to reports from NPR, firefighters often respond to situations that aren't true emergencies. While they're on these calls, another emergency may come in, like a shooting or cardiac arrest, forcing ambulances from farther away to travel longer distances, delaying critical care.
On a rainy morning, firefighter Tyler Hooper arrived at an apartment complex near Hobby Airport to assist Susan Carrington, a 56-year-old woman who was coughing and struggling to breathe. She hadn’t seen a doctor in a while and had called 911 out of fear. Hooper, along with other firefighters trained as EMTs and paramedics, assessed her condition and found her vital signs to be stable. Instead of rushing her to the ER, he used a tablet loaded with a video chat app to connect her with Dr. Kenneth Margolis, located 20 miles away in the city’s emergency dispatch center.
Through the screen, Dr. Margolis spoke directly with Carrington, asking about her symptoms and observing her reactions. He concluded that an ER visit wasn’t necessary. Instead, he arranged for a free taxi ride to a nearby clinic the next morning. The doctor scheduled an appointment for 9:30 a.m., ensuring she would get the care she needed without unnecessary delays.
This initiative is part of **Project Ethan**, a program launched in mid-December across all Houston firehouses. Designed to provide telehealth services, it helps direct patients to primary care clinics rather than emergency rooms. Dr. Michael Gonzalez, the project’s director and an emergency medicine professor at Baylor College of Medicine, says many people are surprised and pleased by the opportunity to speak directly with a doctor.
Gonzalez explains that the goal is not just to avoid overcrowding ERs but to offer a real alternative—same-day or next-day appointments with transportation included. City health workers also follow up with patients to address underlying issues that may lead them to misuse 911.
While the program costs over $1 million annually, funded in part by federal Medicaid grants, experts believe it will save millions in the long run. A 2011 study found that 40% of ER visits in the Houston area were for non-urgent, primary care-related issues. Treating these patients in clinics instead of ERs could save more than $2 million annually, making the program a smart investment in both cost and care.
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