A California city piloted a nurse triage program for incoming 911 calls that has helped 581 residents and saved over $573,000, ABC affiliate CBS8 reported Feb. 15.
The city of El Cajon's nurse program diverts non-life-threatening 911 calls for medical aid to nurses who then triage the situations. It replaced the standard procedure of sending an ambulance or fire truck to the home. Of the 581 calls nurses triaged in one year, 208 were taken out of the EMS system, 150 were able to be treated in their homes and 120 were able to treat themselves at home with advice over the phone.
"It hones the emergency system so that we are running at a higher capacity and not wasting time or resources," El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells told CBS8.
The program was allocated $300,000 for its first year of operation and is likely to receive more money due to its results.