Mrs. Sherri Hercules1
1St Charles County Ambulance District, United States
Biography:
Sherri is deeply committed to providing compassionate, appropriate care, with a focus on the "Right Care, Right Place" approach. Guided by the belief that "To the world you are one person, but to one person you may be the world." Through her service, Sherri strives to enhance innovative, patient-centered programs.
Abstract:
In response to a growing need for improved behavioral health care in our community, we recognized that mental health emergencies accounted for 18% of our call volume. However, transporting these patients to the emergency room often leads to overcrowded EDs and inadequate treatment. To address this challenge, our Community Paramedic Team partnered with the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in our county to provide 24/7/365 access to mental health evaluations via telemedicine with a master’s-level clinician. This collaborative approach enabled us to determine the most appropriate disposition for each patient.
As the program evolved, the FQHC secured funding to establish a crisis center designed to manage more acute behavioral health crises, further expanding our ability to provide specialized care. Our triage system now allows paramedics to assess the severity of each behavioral health emergency and make real-time decisions about the best course of action: transporting the patient to the ED, taking them to the crisis center, or utilizing telemedicine for remote evaluation and support on-site.
This model has successfully reduced emergency department congestion, cut patient costs, and, most importantly, improved patient outcomes by providing care tailored to their needs. In this presentation, we will share the journey of implementing this innovative approach, highlight the challenges we encountered, and showcase the positive impact on both our community and the patients we serve.