Henry County’s fire and rescue services has launched a program that uses nurses to handle non-emergency 911 calls.
The Henry County Nurse Navigation Program matches E-911 non-emergency callers with nurses who can access the caller’s symptoms, identify care needs and direct them to a virtual doctor if necessary, the county said in announcing the plan, which launched in June.
Nurses will also have access to available healthcare providers in the community and the ability to book an appointment for a caller.
“We are much more than just a fire department with the services we provide to the community,” Henry Fire Rescue Chief Jonathan Burnette said. “This additional service will provide a more appropriate level of care for low acuity type events.”
The program helps reserve ambulance services for life-threatening emergencies or significant injuries, the fire and rescue leaders said.
“Our dispatchers are the first link to the community in their time of need,” E-911 Director Tamika Kendrick said. “Our job is to allocate the most appropriate resources to fulfill that need. This program will provide us another option to accomplish that.”
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