Update on HealthOne

This is verbatim from the notes for the June 2 King County Mobility Coalition Access to HealthCare committee  Posted her FYI. RantWoman has a number of opinions which could be helpful in Friends' discernment about how UFM might invest energy.

Health One Unit Update

Jon Ehrenfeld of the Seattle Fire Department shared an update about their Health One Unit. This

program is a partnership between the fire department and human services meant to divert low acuity

calls from emergency services that can be better handled by lower-level response. The program has

been operating since 2019 with two units of weekdays. It is staffed by firefighters and social workers.

While their main geographic focus is downtown Seattle, they can respond to a need anywhere in

Seattle. The service provides ongoing case management to connect individuals in need with services

that can reduce future crisis. It is a connective service that relies on many partners to operate. The

populations it serves most are older adults and people experiencing homelessness. The program is

adding new staff to meet demand.

The program has received positive anecdotal feedback attributed to it’s success. They are currently

doing a quantitative analysis to evaluate the program’s effectivity in diverting people from emergency

services. In regards to scale, Jon shared that he can see the model of this program working well but

through various administering agencies, not all completely owned by the same program (like an

expanding Health One Unit).

COVID-19 impacted the program greatly as many of the community partnerships the program referred

people to shut down, leaving less options for those in need. This included transportation service

providers.

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An attendee asked if this program could assist patients who need to go to the emergency room but

cannot take non-emergency medical transportation. Jon clarified that the program doesn’t operate so

that external partners or people can request their service, but they are referred to when most

appropriate by emergency services.