Spokane innovating emergency responses with new nurse program [Video]

SPOKANE, Wash. — The City of Spokane is innovating its emergency response system.

Starting on Tuesday, June 18, more options are available for 9-1-1 callers.

It’s known as the Nurse Navigation Program. 9-1-1 callers who aren’t experiencing an emergency will be directed to one of these trained nurses who can help arrange visits to an urgent care clinic or other healthcare options like medications.

The Spokane Fire Department says this will cut down on responses and ambulance rides like non-emergencies.

“Other departments [and] places that have done this, there’s [a] 10-20% call reduction,” Justin de Ruyter with the Spokane Fire Department said. “We’re running 55,000 calls a year, so if we could even get rid of 10% of the calls, that adds up. [It’s a] pretty significant cost-savings for us. Certainly, just to the system in general, it’s about response …