Health department awarded grant to add community paramedic

Clay County Health Department was awarded a Community Health Grant in the amount of $450,000 — $150,000 per year for three years — from the N.C. Office of Rural Health. Funding from this grant will be used to add a community paramedic and to maintain a family nurse practitioner, who will preserve clinical capacity and case management services. 

Jeff Ledford, registered nurse with Chatuge Family Practice and community paramedic for Clay County, brought the idea for the CP program (CPP) to EMS director Ricky Lancaster and county manager Debbie Mauney in 2019. Mauney saw the great need that could be met through the program, stating, “CP’s can meet head on the disparities that create barriers within our community, such as lack of access to care and need for transportation. They can reduce the burden placed on EMS and local emergency departments by working with individuals who rely on ambulance transportation to the emergency room for things that truly do not rise to that level of care. It can be an asset to the community by reducing the strain on human and financial resources.”

A $95,000 grant from the Nantahala Health Foundation was the boost the program needed to launch in 2020. That initial investment was the catalyst for a $147,000 grant from the N.C. Health Care Foundation Fill the Gap Fund. Funding from these two organizations allowed for the purchase of a vehicle and equipment to outfit the program. 

Mauney stated, “Since inception, the CPP has established relationships with external primary care groups and other service providers in and around Hayesville, allowing for access to information for countless patients. During COVID-19, the CPP helped with keeping vulnerable populations in their homes by assisting their Primary with assessments, medication and wound care assistance and other non-emergency related situations. The CPP administered COVID testing and vaccines and established strong working relationships with community partners. We are so grateful to our funders for their financial investments and to the Board of Commissioners for their support of this initiative.” 

Current funding will allow the family nurse practitioner and community paramedic to work collaboratively to increase access to clinical and telehealth patient care, while continuing to reduce the strain upon emergency services according to interim health director Clarissa Rogers. We are all exited about providing this service to the citizens of Clay County. 

More information will be posted soon on the Clay County web site on how to access the community paramedic program.