HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Henry Country is making it easier for its residents to find healthcare through a new nurse 911 service.
The county partnered with Global Medical Response to bring the Nurse Navigation Program to the community, after their 911 room became overwhelmed with calls for emergency services for non-emergency reasons during the pandemic.
“The purpose of the program is to get the right medical treatment to the patient's needs because not every patient that calls 911 actually needs medical treatment through the E.R. facility, but they don't have a lot of other options going through 911 to receive that service,” Fire Chief for Henry County Fire Rescue, Jonathan Burnette said. “So what this program does is it better fits the right medical treatment per the patient, depending on what their specific need is.”
The program’s goal is to decrease ambulance response times and hospital wait times by allowing registered nurses to assess the symptoms of the caller over the phone, and provide alternative care based on their needs.
A press release states that these various services range from virtual doctor visits, referrals to alternative destinations outside of the E.R., and appointment bookings to available healthcare providers in the community.
“Sometimes we're able to get actual treatment over the phone. Sometimes the nurse will be able to call their pharmacy and get their prescription refilled for them, so then they can just go get it instead of having to go through the E.R. for something like that,” Burnette explained.
He added that all callers do not have to participate in the Nurse Navigation Program. When dispatchers initially get the call, they will ask if the caller would like to receive the program’s services and if not, they will be given regular emergency services.
“It's not something that they have to do. It's just another option to the citizens of the county, to be able to provide, again, that right medical treatment for the right type of call,” he said.
Since its launching on June 28, Henry County’s E-911 Director Tamika Kendrick says that the program has seen some success. So far, they've received 53 calls to the program and half of those calls have resulted in a non-emergency service from a registered nurse.
Burnette has also seen the program’s advantages.
“It has allowed us to keep more resources available in the street for handling those actual 911 emergency type calls. So it has been beneficial to the county for sure,” he said.
Although the county’s contract with the program is only for a year, officials said the success of the program is on track and where they expected it to be. They are looking forward to seeing how its services continue to help the Henry County community.