NexStar – A new federal program of $ 50 billion gives the states an opportunity to participate and develop new strategies to transform rural health care throughout the country. The emergency medical service providers in the provinces of the rural state of Texas have some ideas to help face the unique challenges they face every day.
The new program is called Rural health conversion programIt was created by enacting the beautiful draft law approved by Congress this summer. All 50 states were asked to apply for a share of $ 50 billion to help in facing rural health challenges for each state.
The Texas Human Services and Humanitarian Committee (THSC) is working on the state’s request for the federal government, and has requested the owners of different interest to present ideas and concepts about what they believe should be included in the application.
Half of the money will be divided equally between each state, but an additional $ 25 billion will be paid “based on individual state standards and applications that reflect the greatest possibility to influence the health of rural communities,” according to Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). The money will be paid during the next five years, starting in 2026.
A THSC spokesman said that the agency had received 303 requests from the public and is in the process of reviewing each of them. CMS was appointed on November 5 as a deadline to submit state requests.
Challenges facing rural environmental management service providers
Michael Fua is the EMS president of both the Lavaca and Colorado provinces. A team of about 95 individuals and eight ambulances between the two provinces is supervised. It is located in a rural area between Houston and Austin, and the EMS has gathered to serve an area of 2000 square miles with about 40,000 people.
One of the challenges faced by the Furrh team, similar to many rural EMS teams, is not the size of the calls they receive, but the amount of time it takes each call. They are assigned to cover 911 calls higher than the transfer of patients from local hospitals to higher levels of care in major cities. For the Fea team, it could be Houston, Austin, or San Antonio.
“This will take an ambulance outside the service for four to five hours, until it ranges from six to seven, depending on the day of the day,” he explained immediately.
Not only is the differential transfers in adding time and miles to ambulances, but also the type of injuries in 911 calls.
The average time ranges from an invitation to boycott Karnes County Ems from 3.5 to 4 hours, according to EBROM. A team of 24 employees who keep three ambulances work fully around the clock throughout the week. It follows the data when there are zero ambulances, a term known as “zero case”.
In 2023, EBROM said that his service area was zero for 86 hours of the entire year. Although this number seems very small for a whole year, the EBROM puts it in the perspective of its presidents at the Commissioners’ Court by saying that it seems that if there is no ambulance available for Christmas, Christmas Day, Eve New Year, and part of New Year’s Day.
EBROM and Furrh said that they have mutual assistant requests with nearby agencies to help them when they suffer from a large size of calls or in zero.
“We have a bad debris that contains three or four patients with severe shock, and we do not come locally, and we go to San Antonio, so we can exhaust our resources very quickly.”
Another issue is the cost of employment with enough paramedics and EMTS. Carly French, EMS president in Siminol, Texas, the city of Banhandel Texas near the New Mexico border, said she must rely on a team of volunteers to help trucks on employees during a large number of calls. She has 12 full -time employees and is looking to grow this number with the growth of the highest demand in its area.
It is part of the transition in the rural areas of Texas where the volunteers advance and the cost of becoming a paramedic that does not deserve to be a volunteer, as you are paid only if you are called.
“In rural America, we move from the type of volunteer type to the paid agency, and because of the lack of financing, as you know, it is difficult to pay our employees,” said Franch.
She also said that compensation from Medicaid and Medicare services is no less than the costs required by the provision of EMS services. She said about the millions of dollars that she sanctifies for services, and she only receives about 30 % in payment.
“The payment rates are not increasing, and we will rely heavily on financial support from our local governments and taxpayers, in order to maintain our operations,” Franch said.
What is the future of EMS services in rural areas in Texas?
EBROM said he believed the future of rural health services will be integrated health for mobile phones. Simply put, he will use medical emergency services to integrate care at home instead of transporting someone to the hospital.
Ebrom explained the concept using a false patient known as Miss Smith. She is a repeated manager who needed help in the elevator because she fell in her home and she was weak because she does not take her medicine. In this example, EBROM said that EMS will go out to her home and usually take her to ER if she wants to go. He calls it a vicious cycle. He explained what a new model can do to finish the course.
“It returns to the analysis of the root cause of the use of EMS, and it is a trainer who does not focus only on emergency medicine, but also focus on long -term care and disease management, it can be included in these spaces in our homes and says:” Miss Smith, let’s make a conversation. ”
Faroula also said that the use of technology will be important in converting rural health care. Things such as a distance health care can prevent a hospital trip for some patients. “I can take the iPad while I am with them, or that the paramedics and the EMTS are with the patient, and I can immediately connect this patient to the iPad with the doctor.”