Chief Brian Jackvony and EMS Director Lt. Lyle McKay are pleased to announce that Marion Fire EMS was recently approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Medical Services to conduct Community EMS programs.
Community EMS is a collaborative system that addresses illness or injury prevention through public health services in Massachusetts communities.
Though community outreach programs have been a regular part of the department’s operations, state approval provides Marion’s Community EMS program, titled Marion Cares, with more resources. Marion Cares will provide community risk-reduction programs to the residents of Marion.
As part of the state approval process, the department conducted a community needs assessment to understand the need for programs and services in the community. The 10 programs and services identified include: child passenger safety, emergency preparedness individual evaluation, fire and burn prevention and education, firearms safety, home and community falls prevention, poison control home evaluation, sharps awareness, vaccinations, water safety and well-being checks.
As part of these services, EMS personnel will provide assistance and education to the community through discussions on preparation and prevention, evaluations of the environment and potential risks and by providing recommendations to improve safety.
“We are pleased to be launching this program in Marion and believe that these services will benefit our community members and will promote health and safety in everyday life,” Lt. McKay said. “We will continuously monitor the results of the program and evaluate potential opportunities to improve current programming as well as add new programming. Community EMS is a fairly new program in Massachusetts, and we are looking forward to seeing it grow.”
The Community EMS program is a true community effort and involves other local agencies as well. Each month, members of the fire department and police department meet with the town’s nurse, Council on Aging, Coastline Elderly Services and Bristol Elder Services during which the group discusses cases where members of the community could benefit from services by any of the agencies and is an opportunity to refer members of the community to services.
Marion Public Health Director Lori Desmarais has also been an instrumental part of the creation of the program. Together, the health and fire departments have delivered COVID-19 vaccinations to homebound residents and followed up with community members who have healthcare concerns. The departments will continue working closely to provide Community EMS services to the community.
“Prevention and risk-reduction education is an important part of what we do, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this program will have on our community,” Chief Jackvony said. “Lt. McKay and Director Desmarais have done a great job coordinating and delivering past community health services and planning for this program, and we are thankful for the participation from our partners at the Police Department, Board of Health, Council on Aging, Coastline Elderly Services and Bristol Elder Services.”
The department is planning to arrange a community meeting in the coming weeks to share the services that will soon be available as part of the program. Additional details on the meeting will be shared with residents as they become available. Anyone interested in any of the services or who would like more information is encouraged to contact Lt. McKay at 508-748-3596, ext. 3212.