The Las Cruces Fire Department (LCFD) has added to its fleet a Mobile Integrated Healthcare Transport van.
The vehicle will be used by LCFD’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) program to transport at-risk City residents in the program to alternate care destinations, such as doctors’ appointments and other human service agencies, that MIH clients need access to because of their disabilities. The vehicle is equipped with a wheelchair ramp and has all the amenities to safely secure a person for transport.
The van, which cost about $40,000, was obtained through a state of New Mexico grant, thus utilizing external funding for its purchase. The transportation provided by the van is at no cost to enrolled MIH clients.
The purpose of the MIH program is to provide referrals, visitations and treatment services to City residents who are considered to be high utilizers of the 911 system, and community members with limited access to health and social services. The MIH program has helped ease the use of the 911 system.
Since the MIH program started in 2016, the Las Cruces Fire Department has helped more than 150 clients by navigating their resources to obtain a better quality of life.
The Las Cruces Fire Department is hard at work providing as much as it can for the community to ensure Mobile Integrated Healthcare clients are receiving the right care at the right time.
For information, call Paul Ford, MIH program coordinator, at 575-528-3473.