Aspirus and Wausau Fire Department’s Community Care Paramedic Program Aims to Help Homeless Population

Wednesday, August 7th, 2024 -- 12:01 PM

(Nick Robinson, WAOW) Community leaders in Wausau have tried to fix the city's homelessness issue for years, and Aspirus and the Wausau Fire Department are looking to take a step in the right direction with their new Community Care Paramedic program.

According to Nick Robinson with WAOW, the program aims to help people in the city living with homelessness, by having a community care paramedic connect homeless individuals with resources around the area to help find housing, and care for any health problems that they are dealing with. Wausau Fire Chief Jeremy Kopp said it goes hand in hand with their mission of community safety.

Kopp said, "What we're thinking there also is a lot of times, the homeless are looking for resources, and this person will be in touch with a lot of different resources throughout the county. I guess for us it's just making sure that we're taking care of everyone in our community whether they're in a home or not."

He said that the Community Paramedic position will also reduce the strain on emergency 911 services. The Community Paramedic will start in September, with the position being funding by the Aspirus Health Foundation for the next three years.

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