12-10-19 CFD touts success of new program

Total costs associated with these kinds of calls have been adding up. In 2018, there were 144 calls for one person alone, with an estimated price tag of $18,720 for the responding crew and fire truck. If the pace continues with no intervention, for 2019, the associated cost for the city for just that one person would be $85, 020. In Fiscal Year 2019, we responded to 1468 such calls.

The 911 system is taxed and CFD has been searching for solutions so Cpt. Skyler Phillips, EMS Coordinator, reached out to multiple fire departments in the U.S. and created a Chattanooga model for addressing the issue in coordination with a number of community partners.
UTC students intern at CFD and they each work 16 hours a week with Cpt. Phillips. They go out on home visits based on call data and firefighter concern.

For the citizens who are frequent users of 911, the interns conduct a needs assessment and connect them to the proper resources, like their insurance companies and other case managers.

There’s been a 63% decrease in non-emergency calls associated with the 13 clients CFD Connect has worked with, saving the city thousands of dollars.

CFD Connect has cost the city $0 up until this point, but with funding, the program would continue to have a greater impact in the community. We know there are more people who need help. CFD would like to hire an additional training position to do EMS work and increase the number of UTC interns.

“We have seen a dramatic increase in these calls in recent years and we want to address the problem and find a solution, rather than put a band aid on it. This program has tremendous promise. It’s a proactive approach. We’re going above and beyond for our community,” Fire Chief Phil Hyman said.