Funding supports the Hampton Fire Division’s Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine Program.
Sentara Health provided a $327,000 grant to the Hampton Fire Division’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine program during an event held at the Y.H. Thomas Community Center in Hampton, Va., on October 2, 2023.
The Sentara grant will support an innovative program that will increase access to healthcare services through a community-based paramedic approach. Paramedics and emergency medical technicians will be able to conduct home visits to provide primary healthcare and preventive services to the underserved populations in the community.
This more proactive approach in care delivery will lead to improved health outcomes for the community and a sizable decrease in the number of unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits to the region’s crowded hospitals and care centers.
“As an integrated delivery network, the focus for us is not the hospital, said Kapua Conley, Sentara’s regional president for the Peninsula. ”We want to make sure that we are doing right by the community. And I think this is an opportunity to get out into the community and make sure that they get the care that they need. And this doesn’t always include them going to the ED.”
Sentara’s investment will allow the Hampton Fire Division to acquire two additional response vehicles for home medical visits, along with all the supplies and medical equipment necessary to increase service to the community.
“Putting in for this grant allows us to move the program much further,” said Hampton Fire Chief Jason Monk. “It’s going to bolster what we’re doing here. Without this help, I’m not sure we would get much further than where we are already at.”
This grant reinforces Sentara’s pledge to promote health equity and improve access to care throughout Virginia and North Carolina. This contribution is part of Sentara’s Spring 2023 Grant Cycle, where Sentara bestowed over $5M to more than 130 community partners in Virginia and North Carolina.