BLOOMINGTON — The City of Bloomington Fire Department has been awarded a $75,000 grant to support its Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) program, the city announced in a news release Wednesday.
The money will go towards purchasing a new vehicle to be used by two Community EMTs, and purchasing a Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) used for special events and off-road areas.
“This grant allows us to better serve our neighbors, especially those who may not have easy access to healthcare," said Max Litwin, Deputy Chief of the Bloomington Fire Department. “We are grateful for the support, which enables us to bring compassionate, proactive care directly to the people who need it most.”
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The Mobile Integrated Healthcare program was launched in 2022 as a way to provide additional medical services that may not require the need of an ambulance or fire truck.
In most situations, firefighters respond to 911 calls that are not fire related, such as when someone falls and needs help getting up. Sending a fire truck and firefighters to these situations is "overkill and doesn’t make sense," the city said on the program website.
Community EMTs are dispatched to where patients are at before or after a 911 call is placed because some situations do not require a police officer or firefighter to respond. Most MIH units conduct work centered on improve quality of life, prevent additional nonemergency calls, and follow up with previous calls for service.
The city says the volume of repetitive non-emergency calls has significantly decreased since the MIH program began.
“We never want to deter someone from calling 911 if they need it, but if it’s a non-emergency situation where we don’t necessarily need 911, we want to step in to help prevent those calls,” said Community Care Coordinator Shelby Wood.
