COMMUNITY PARAMEDICINE PILOT PROGRAMS: LESSONS FROM MAINE.

Community paramedicine programs are beginning to flourish across the nation, and the need to provide demonstration or pilot programs is essential to providing a consistent and high-level standard for this model of care. While the overarching goals are to align with the Triple Aim, piloting a community paramedicine program also allows each community to develop and implement a program tailored to the healthcare needs of their specific community. A successful program builds the evidence base that can then be used to create legislative change necessary to financially sustain this model of care across the healthcare delivery system. This article provides a discussion of the healthcare needs of people living in rural areas and of the ways in which community paramedicine can address some of those needs. This article begins with a discussion of legislative authorization and characteristics of the Maine community paramedicine pilot program, the general strategies for implementation, and lessons learned from these programs. A case study of a Maine community paramedicine program provides an example of key implementation strategies along with structural and operation functions of the program that may be useful for other community paramedicine pilot sites looking to implement a community-based health care program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]