Fire Stations Could Offer Care in Alameda County Pilot
During a Newark City Council meeting last week, Alameda County Fire Chief Sheldon Gilbert and Alex Briscoe, director of the county's Health Care Services Agency, introduced a proposal for the Fire Station Health Care Portal pilot program. Under the program, five fire stations would be selected to provide primary care services geared toward uninsured and underinsured residents, and each station would be staffed with a firefighter paramedic, a care coordinator and a nurse practitioner. Briscoe said a feasibility assessment study will be presented to the county board of supervisors in January for approval. About $6 million would be needed to operate the pilot program, according to Briscoe and Gilbert.
- "Program Would Offer Health Care at Alameda County Fire Stations" (De Benedetti, Oakland Tribune, 10/17).