CITY MANAGER UPDATE By Virginia Barney For publication Wednesday, July 21, 2010 As published in the Upper Arlington News
STAY UA Recognized as Innovative Program in Regional Health Care Awards When the idea for testing out a new approach to providing effective, yet low cost support to our elderly and infirm residents during a time of need was brought forward, those involved in the initial exploratory phase knew we were on to something. Fortunately for all, the pieces fell into place in relatively short order, and as the Services to Age in Your Upper Arlington (STAY UA) pilot program was launched we quickly began to see it would exceed our hopes and more than realize its potential.
I am pleased to report that this unique approach, as well as the potential for other communities to incorporate similar programs into their fire and EMS programs, has now been recognized and honored by others in the Central Ohio healthcare industry. STAY UA was recently named as the "Innovator Honoree" in the 2010 Health Care Heroes Award Program sponsored by Business First.
Started in April 2009, the STAY UA pilot program immediately began making a meaningful difference in the lives of our community's elderly and frail residents, when they most needed help. Thanks to STAY UA, when called to the home of residents having issues living independently, our Fire Division's emergency responders can easily refer them to the STAY UA Service Coordinator to help identify appropriate support resources.
Today, STAY UA is now an established program embedded within our Fire Division's Training & EMS Office, in partnership with local home healthcare agency InCare, a subsidiary of National Church Residences.
This unique approach is a win-win on several levels. Our EMS crews are oftentimes the first to become alerted to a resident who is experiencing problems and is unable to seek and find available supportive services. However, these crews lack the skills, resources and time to be able to effectively assist residents beyond responding to the emergency call. The STAY UA Service Coordinator provides the missing link between first responders and appropriate existing community support services. In many cases, this extra step can mean the difference between residents reaching a crisis situation and premature admission to institutionalized care, or being connected with in-home services and support that enable them to remain safely at home.
Some initial statistics of the program show that before STAY UA was in place, over a six month period more than 260 emergency calls were made requesting EMS crews that turned out not to be of an emergency nature. In its first 10 months of operation, STAY UA helped reduce these types of calls to less than 10, with the service coordinator logging 184 referrals to appropriate support services on behalf of the elderly residents involved.
Special thanks are due to former Council Member Linda Mauger who originally brought forward the idea for STAY UA, and current Council Members Mary Ann Krauss and Erik Yassenoff who joined with Linda on a Council Committee that explored and made recommendations on the best approach for establishing a long-term program. Former Fire Chief Mitch Ross and Captain Lyn Nofziger, Assistant City Manager Joe Valentino and others on staff put a great deal of effort into planning and implementation. And of course, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those at InCare and NCR for embracing the initial idea and helping to establish a winning program for all involved, especially those in our community for whom it serves.
Congratulations also go to UA resident Dr. Medard Lutmerding, who received an Honorable Mention in the "Health Care Manager" category at the awards program, for his work on the Central Ohio Trauma System to address and reduce issues associated with emergency-run hospital diversions. An active participant within his own community, we are proud to count Dr. Lutmerding as a member of the City's Medical Advisory Board, which provides professional supervision, training and support of the City's emergency medical service program.
