Douglas County weighs expanding mobile health team amid rising demand

Douglas County commissioners spent part of their July 8 budget hearings deciding whether to add three jobs to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical’s mobile integrated health team, a small program now staffed by just two community paramedics. Referrals into the program jumped 44% compared with 2024.

The request came as commissioners worked through a proposed $191.4 million county budget that keeps the mill levy flat at 41.298 mills. Property taxes make up 75% of county revenues, and officials could consider adding services during the review process. The mobile health proposal was part of a broader city-county funding negotiation for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, which was formed in 1996 from the merger of the Lawrence Fire Department and Douglas County Ambulance Service and now provides fire services in Lawrence and ambulance service across the county.

Fire medical leaders asked for a team lead, a mobile integrated health technician-paramedic and an EMS administrative specialist. The positions were priced at roughly $199,000, $182,000 and $75,000. John Darling, the division chief of emergency medical services, told commissioners the team’s work requires extra certification beyond a standard paramedic role because it includes chronic-condition management, wound care and medication reconciliation. Darling also said the team lead would provide continuity, cover absences and take on the administrative load that has grown with the program.

The program sends trained clinicians into homes before patients cycle back through repeated 911 calls, ambulance transports and emergency room visits. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical launched Mobile Integrated Health in December 2023 for high-risk patients who frequently use emergency services. In September 2024, the program could provide chronic disease management, wound care and resource navigation at no cost. Lift assists and falls made up 15% of LDCFM calls for service in 2023.

One case involved a person who had made 24 911 calls for panic attacks in four months before intervention and stopped calling after five visits. Another involved a person who had called 911 14 times for help getting out of bed, a problem resolved by finding a new bed frame. In November 2024, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health paired with the mobile team and the City of Lawrence Homeless Response Team, and LDCFM protocols effective Jan. 1, 2025, allowed any Douglas County EMS worker to request MIH support through a Community Outreach Reference Form.