Dedicated to Responding to “Alpha” Calls

The 30-year-old man’s irritable-bowel syndrome was causing severe pain and he could barely stand up. His mother called 911.

It was the third time last week the mother and son had called 911 from their trailer. Both suffer from the same ailment. With no car, no doctor and not knowing many people in Tucson, they found themselves with few choices.

The Tucson Fire Department was dispatched. But rather than sending a medic truck or a fire engine or both — standard in medical emergencies — the department dispatched a much cheaper, two-person extended-cab pickup called “Alpha.”The Alphas — named after the fire dispatch code for low-priority calls — are becoming increasingly important to the Fire Department as its duties continue to shift from putting out fires to medical calls and fire prevention.

A growing elderly population, flagging economy and overloaded health-care system are fueling the need. The Alpha trucks respond to many people who don’t have rides to the hospital or enough money to pay for a cab.

To that end, firefighters working the Alpha trucks have become the department’s “problem-solvers,” adding social-service referrals to their duties. The firefighters carry a list of phone numbers for assistance agencies, including contact information for the Pima Council on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association and others.

“We can let them know about assisted living, for example, if they are having trouble getting chores done, getting bathed,” said firefighter Matt Lott, who works on an Alpha truck.

“Then they might not need to be calling 911 every three days,” he said.

Putting out fires used to be the sole function of fire departments. No longer. About 88 percent of the Tucson Fire Department’s calls are medical-related — everything from the flu to cardiac arrest. Of the department’s 700 uniformed personnel, 250 are paramedics.

Approximately 16 percent of the department’s calls last year were classified as Alphas, and those are predicted to grow in number.

By 2020, about one-fifth of the local population is expected to be 65 years of age and older.

Alphas frequently include calls from elderly people who have fallen. Sometimes they’ve fallen out of a wheelchair. Other times they are being cared for by an elderly, frail spouse who is having trouble coping.

“Some people just don’t know there’s assistance out there, and that’s where we can help with education,” said Pete December, Lott’s Alpha truck partner. “You help people who don’t or can’t help themselves. We become problem-solvers.”

The local Alpha program began in 2006 with one two-person truck. There are now two fully funded trucks and a third that runs when staffing is available. The department’s plan includes four, but officials would like five, Assistant Chief Dave Ridings said.

Ridings, a 31-year department veteran, initiated the Alpha program. As a medic, he had noticed people who were uninsured and underinsured were increasingly relying on 911 for medical issues.

“Frankly, we had a tier of calls being over-serviced,” he said.

The Fire Department has repeat 911 callers — as many as four or five from the same person in one day — often referred to as “frequent fliers.” Occasionally callers are more bored and lonely than sick. Some callers are drug users looking for a ride to a hospital to find pain medications. But department officials stop short of saying the system is being abused.

Some of the “frequent fliers” need medical attention, they say. Other callers can benefit from education.

“The 911 system is free, so we’ve really asked for this problem,” Ridings said. “We need to provide solutions.”

Lott and December say their days on the truck can vary from fewer than a dozen calls per 24-hour shift to days when they barely get time to sleep or eat.

In addition to carrying standard first-aid materials like bandages, oxygen and rubber gloves, the firefighters have glucometers for diabetics, pregnancy-test kits and swift-water-rescue gear.

Last week, the pair was called out to see a 25-year-old diabetic woman who had been blacking out and had a bad headache. The woman, who lives in a group home, didn’t have a ride to the hospital.

Lott and December took her vital signs and arranged for an ambulance to pick her up. They also educated group-home leaders about ensuring she eats a balanced diet.

The Alpha truck will call ambulances for patients in need, but firefighters stress that getting picked up by a Fire Department medic truck or by Southwest Ambulance does not shorten the wait time in emergency rooms.

On another call, they arranged for an ambulance to pick up a woman who thought the medication she was taking was making her ill.

The man with the irritable-bowel syndrome, Jerome Mc-Kibben, told Lott and December he wanted to go to University Medical Center. They asked him about his insurance — he’s on a form of Medicaid — and whether he has a primary-care physician. He told them he has an appointment this month with a doctor. They arranged for Southwest Ambulance to pick him up.

“This man and his mother have been pleasant and appreciative each time we’ve been out,” Lott said. “Hopefully he’ll seek follow-up care. I don’t mind running a call like this at all. We’re happy to do it.”

Written by Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Star