The Paramedic Intercept Program delivers a meaningful benefit to our community by expanding access to paramedic-level care, while helping patients receive the right care at the right time.
Ryan Hornblower, manager of EMS and Emergency ManagementSeveral towns in the Greater Monadnock Region lacked reliable emergency medical services for their residents.
To help solve this issue, Cheshire Medical Center launched its Paramedic Intercept Program in the fall of 2023, providing paramedic services from a person trained to give emergency medical care to people who are injured or ill, typically in a setting outside of a hospital, to communities experiencing gaps in this care.
Cheshire employs two full-time and four part-time paramedics who can respond to emergency medical assistance calls in area towns. The program serves as the primary paramedic response for the towns of Alstead, Marlow, and Walpole, and provides service to other communities in the region when needed.
When not on emergency calls, these paramedics also support Cheshire’s Emergency Department staff, such as transferring patients to a different department within the hospital to continue their care.
Programs like this are shown to reduce unnecessary emergency visits, lower hospital readmission rates (when a patient is readmitted to the hospital for an unplanned follow-up visit shortly after discharge), and improve access to primary care.