Who
- Hospital Council
- Coalition of health systems in Sacramento region
- Local EMS providers
- Sacramento County health leaders
What
Hospital Council has convened discussions since 2015 to design and implement the Sacramento Mobile Integrated Healthcare (SacMIH) model. Sacramento Metro Fire District launched the first SacMIH unit in November, pairing an advanced level practitioner with a paramedic to respond to behavioral health calls and proactively contact high utilizers of the 911 system. Sacramento County’s health services director and health officer are strong advocates for expanding the program and allocated a portion of the county’s American Recovery Plan Act funding to bring additional units online. Hospital Council is sending a letter to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors urging its support for expansion of the SacMIH model.
Takeaway/Next Steps
Overall goals include addressing the root causes of patient health challenges, improving patient case management, maximizing the capacity of the system to meet patient demand, reducing inappropriate utilization of emergency departments, and developing data to show outcomes and gain traction to put more units in the field. The program is expected to begin responding directly to low-acuity 911 calls in early 2022.
Contact
RVP Brian Jensen at bjensen@hospitalcouncil.org.