Nurse Navigation Program proves successful in East County

SANTEE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Just a couple of weeks after expanding in the East County, a program that connects 911 callers to nurses is already getting positive reviews.

El Cajon first launched the Nurse Navigation Program last year through its partnership with American Medical Response and Heartland Fire and Rescue. 

The Grossmont Healthcare District and East County fire agencies are now collectively funding the $300,000 expansion. It includes Santee, Lakeside, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, along with San Miguel and areas covered by Sycuan, Barona and Viejas fire departments. Approximately 600,000 people can access the program, thanks to the expansion.

Kyle Gaut, a fire communications dispatcher with Heartland Communications, said with more cities now participating, he and his team have been able to divert more calls to the Nurse Navigation Program.

Managing incoming emergency calls and coordinating the appropriate response from first responders can be life-saving, but not every case is urgent. "We’ve had medication refills. We’ve had people that have fallen several days prior to the 911 call, they’re still having pain," Gaut explained.

Licensed nurse practitioners in Texas take calls that don’t need an ambulance or fire engine. "It’s helped decrease the amount of transports we’ve done to the emergency room," said Gaut.

Santee has a partnership with Lakeside managing seven ambulances. Fire Chief Justin Matsushita said the program keeps them accessible at the most crucial times. "It could be hours as far as how long they’re spending at a hospital, which means that resource in the city of Santee or Lakeside," he shared.

Matsushita added that Santee looked at a year’s worth of data from El Cajon, where patients who used the program saved thousands of dollars in medical expenses. While its too soon to know the impacts of the rollout in Santee, that city and others in the east are hoping for similar results. 

“Let’s say we’re spending $100,000 or $200,000 on this program. We believe the savings is going to exceed the cost," said Matsushita. He added that a recent report from the director of Heartland Fire and Rescue showed the program, so far, is going well.

The ultimate end-game is for it to be adopted at the county level with all agencies participating. Santee officials expect to analyze data on the program in about a year and see the impact its having on the city, and what changes -- if any -- to make.