LAKEWOOD, Colorado — Paramedics with West Metro Fire Rescue rolled out a new tool this summer.
It’s called the Advanced Resource Medic or ARM car for short. The vehicle looks like an ambulance, but it works more like an urgent care center on wheels.
“Exactly, yes. An urgent care on wheels,” explained Kimel Brent, an Advanced Practice Paramedic with West Metro.
Last year, West Metro started a new program designed to treat more patients at home, rather than transport them to the hospital. This summer, the customized ARM car officially hit the streets.
“We created the program with two missions in mind,” Brent said. “One, that we could provide more appropriate and efficient on-scene care to our patients, usually of a lower acuity. And also to provide a resource where we can help patients navigate other resources they might need in addition to their medical complaints.”
The program works through a public-private partnership. Brent teams up with nurse practitioners and physician assistants through Dispatch Health, a company that provides mobile urgent care.
In a medical emergency, patients or caregivers call 911. When paramedics from West Metro respond, they will assess the situation and see if the patient would qualify for ARM care. If so, Brent and his team respond to the address and remain on-site to treat the patient.
Unlike a traditional ambulance, they can stitch up wounds, run several health tests, treat illnesses like the flu and mono and even prescribe medication. Patients can avoid a costly and time-consuming trip to the Emergency Room (ER), and it frees up first responders and ER doctors to treat more critically ill patients.
“Financially, it’s a very big savings to the patient and to the payers,” Brent said. “And it frees up the system, primarily ER and 911, to do what they do best, which is treat patients.”
Since the program started in May 2018, Brent said the ARM program has treated more than 300 patients.
West Metro isn't the first department to offer a service like this. Brent said the trend is spreading around the country.
Payment for ARM car treatment is comparable to urgent care. Brent said they take all major forms of insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.
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