The Home Care Association of New York State (HCANYS) has been asked to submit an application for $1.4 million to continue the community paramedicine program in 2027 for an unprecedented seventh year by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. IHA is a partner with HCA on this grant that supports 7 pilot programs throughout Upstate New York.
The Community Paramedicine program expands the role of paramedics and EMTs with the intention of increasing access to care in rural areas where it can be difficult to get to a healthcare provider. The program utilizes EMTs and paramedics, in conjunction with home health care agencies, to provide primary and preventative care services to vulnerable populations that have difficulty accessing care in traditional settings. Pilot programs have been established in rural locations across UNY to design models, develop protocols for, and operate community centric programs. Administering preventative care lowers the likelihood that emergency teams will be called to non-urgent situations, protects emergency care resources and decreases emergency room visits and hospital admissions/re-admissions.
The grant program is run on a county basis and started with three pilot programs:
- Broome County (United Health Services and Lourdes Hospital)
- Columbia /Greene (Columbia Memorial Hospital)
- Jefferson (Samaritan Hospital)
Four additional pilots have been added over the years:
- Lawrence (Canton Potsdam)
- Tompkins (Cayuga Medical Center)
- Herkimer (Mohawk Valley Health System)
- Warren/Washington (Glens Falls Hospital)
As of May 2026, these 7 pilots have served just over 2,000 unduplicated patients with 10,600 in -home visits. The results are significant with pilot participants having a 62% reduction in ED visits and an 84% reduction in hospital admissions/readmissions over the course of the program.
Pilot participants convened at their annual summit in Utica, New York, in June 2026 to share best practices, discuss challenges and opportunities, explore the addition of new services, identify state and federal policy changes needed to support broader implementation, and develop strategies for sustaining the pilots beyond philanthropic funding.
If you would like to learn more about this program, please visit the Community Paramedicine page on our website.