The success of the Bryan fire department’s mobile health unit, sending a paramedic in a SUV instead of an ambulance, was shared with the city council during a workshop presentation on Tuesday.
Assistant fire chief D.J. Capener says the mobile unit has responded to 2,400 calls. In 16 percent of those cases, the paramedic called for an ambulance.
Capener says using the mobile unit has kept the fire department from buying a sixth ambulance, which carries a yearly operational cost of $780,000 dollars.
And fewer than ten College Station ambulances came into Bryan in August 2023. That is compared with about 160 in July of 2021.
The mobile unit has contributed to generating more revenue than expected for the fire department by $1.1 million dollars.
Capener says the fire department is investigation the addition a 9-1-1 dispatcher with medical training.
Starting in October, the fire department’s medical adviser will start riding with the mobile unit and a fourth year medical student from Texas A&M will begin an internship.
Click below to hear comments from D.J. Capener during the September 12, 2023 Bryan city council workshop meeting.
Click below to watch a video produced by the city of Bryan about the fire department’s mobile health unit.