City of Wausau Discussing New Healthcare Resource to Better Serve the Community

Thursday, March 14th, 2024 -- 12:01 PM

(Samuel Dehring, WSAW) An additional healthcare resource is being discussed to better serve the Wausau community.

According to Samuel Dehring with WSAW, the Wausau Fire Department, Aspirus, and the Marathon County Health Department will work together on this. It would be for a new position and another resource for people needing proper care. The position is called Community Care Paramedic.

Nobody wants to be in an ambulance, and this position will save patients that step. Depending on the nature of the 911 call, the Community Care Paramedic would instead go to the patient’s home to help them and determine the next step.

This position would allow the Community Care Paramedic to work closely with their patients, meaning going into their home and assessing them with the care they need. “We’re taking care of our people in their home in a lot of different ways,” Wausau Fire Chief Jeremy Kopp said. “We’re making sure that they’re taking their medications that they’re supposed to. That they’re following the nurse or the doctor’s orders.”

Helping patients at home can potentially reduce the number of transports to the hospital. “Adapt to the growing issue of healthcare as we know it locally. You know, our transports are going up in numbers every year. Our local hospitals are backed up every day,” Chief Kopp added.

“We know that the social needs of our community members has increased, and we’re seeing that within the walls of our hospital,” Aspirus System Director of Community Health Tara Draeger added.

The position would require at least three years of paramedic experience and your Community Care Paramedic certification. Being able to work well with community members is also crucial.

“We can make bigger strides on improving the quality of care that we provide without spending the amount of money that it might take without a partner,” Chief Kopp said. The approval at the committee meeting on March 12 is a promising step forward for a new Community Care Paramedic in Wausau.

“To be able to avoid riding in an ambulance to the emergency room, if that situation were preventable, I think that’s key,” said Wausau Police Chief Matt Barnes. The Wausau Fire Department has a three-year commitment from Aspirus.

Those three years will be used as a trial run for fire crews to gather all the resources to run the position through their department. The next steps are to propose the idea to the Public Health and Safety Committee, the Finance Committee, and the City Council.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.