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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

PELHAM – The Pelham Fire Department has partnered with Middle Alabama Area Agency on Aging (M4A) to start what is called the Community Paramedic Program, which will connect citizens with a variety of resources and social services.

Emergency Medical Services Director Matt Maples said that the city worked closely with M4A to develop a program based on services offered in other cities in the country to provide social services.

“This is trying to connect people to resources that are out there just to help people in our community in a non-emergency capacity,” Maples said. “Sometimes we will get 911 calls that are not medical emergencies, and now we can easily refer them to one of these services.

Services being offered through the Community Paramedic Program include:

– Dementia and Alzheimer’s Caregiver Assistance

– Chronic Disease Self-Management Education (One-on-one sessions and workshops)

– Senior Services or Disability Resources

– Mental Health or Substance Abuse

– Medication Therapy Management

– Medicare and Medicaid Counseling

– Home Safety Assessments/Fall Reduction

– Overcoming Barriers to Healthcare

Maples said having those resources available expands their capabilities as a fire department to reach out to more people in the community not only to respond to emergency but to non-emergencies as well.

Residents or caregivers can enroll in this program to have easy access to a variety of counseling, resources and other help to not only improve quality of life, but to create a more effective streamlined access to specific types of help.

The service is available for anyone who needs it. Those interested can enroll in the program by visiting the Community Paramedic section under the Fire Department tab at Pelhamalabama.gov.