UVA Health Community Paramedicine

05/30/2025

Come join us on June 18th. Registration is free

Link: https://virginia.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_barCUfdFsKQRz2C

05/16/2025

Congrats to one of our own who graduated from UVa Sunday, Taylor Tereskerz! We couldn’t be more proud of him and all the work he’s put in over the last several years. Congrats Taylor!

04/03/2025

Excited to be on Capitol Hill today advocating for HB-2538, EMS Treat in Place. Busy day meeting with our Virginia Legislators.

03/27/2025

Excited to have been invited to speak at the Atrium Mobile Integrated Health Conference in Savannah Georgia this week! Come find us if you are here!

12/11/2024

We are excited to finally be able to announce, one of our own won the Leonard Sandridge Outstanding Contributor award this year. This award is in honor of Leonard Sandridge, former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for UVA and dedicated employee of 44 years. This award is the highest individual award for UVa employees. Taylor was recently recognized at a lunch with Leonard Sandridge and the UVa Board of Visitors in the Rotunda.

Some excerpts from his nomination:

Exceptional Patient Support: Taylor provides holistic care for patients, including assisting with daily activities, performing home maintenance, and offering emotional support. Whether installing grab rails, managing medications, or delivering donated items, his actions consistently prioritize patient safety and comfort.

Innovative Problem-Solving: Taylor has creatively addressed patient challenges, such as coordinating the construction of safer trailer steps for a patient with mobility issues. His proactive approach prevents accidents and ensures accessibility.

Impactful Program Development: As a co-creator of the Community Paramedicine program, Taylor helped design processes that have reduced emergency room visits by up to 75% within three months of patient enrollment, leading to improved outcomes and significant cost savings for both patients and the hospital.

Building Patient Connections: Taylor ensures patients feel valued and understood, fostering trust through detailed care plan reviews and thoughtful gestures like remembering birthdays or writing sympathy cards. His actions have improved patient perceptions of UVA Health, creating a sense of individualized, compassionate care.

We are proud of Taylor’s dedication and hard work with the Community Paramedicine program and excited to see his efforts recognized. Taylor also volunteers as a medic and Captain with the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad in his free time.

If you see Taylor, make sure you give him a congratulates on receiving this distinguished award.

https://uvaconnect.com/38-photos-congratulations-to-uvas-leonard-w-sandridge-outstanding-contributor-award-winners/

11/21/2024

We are proud to announce that UVA Community Paramedicine was awarded the Thomas Jefferson EMS Council (TJEMS) Regional Award for Outstanding EMS Agency for 2024!

In just 2 years, the Community Paramedicine Program has reduced ER visits with their patients by ~75%. The services they provide on a daily basis go a long way to helping their patient’s health and positively impacting their lives.

Pictured is (L-R) Dr. Lindbeck (Community Paramedicine Operating Medical Director), Taylor Tereskerz, and Patrick Watson.

This award now nominates Community Paramedicine for the Virginia Governor’s EMS Awards which will be announced in late winter/early spring of 2025.

10/11/2024

One of the last days of MIH week deals with the work MIH/CP providers do with patients who are addicted to substances. Substance abuse is a growing problem in America and sometimes resources can be difficult to access, not available, no room, or the patient may not be ready.

Our team visits with patients experienced substance abuse to offer any assistance we can from counseling, rehab, community resource referral, and delivering/training on life-saving Narcan.

10/10/2024

Thursday of MIH week deals with acute care MIH/CP providers see. Most of the follow up deals with chronic care and social drivers of health. Some systems use MIH/CP providers for more acute situations. Some systems, like ours, will respond to see patients when an acute problem arises that may not warrant a visit to the ER to help coordinate care or direct to alternatives like urgent care or same day visits. This work is invaluable especially given how busy hospitals can be and long wait times experienced at ER’s.

10/09/2024

As we continue to celebrate Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Providers Week, today we spotlight the critical role mental health plays in overall well-being. Mental health is an essential aspect of holistic health, and our Community Paramedics are dedicated to supporting this through comprehensive screenings and referrals to appropriate community resources.

At UVA’s Population Health department, we are proud to offer both virtual and in-person counseling services through a team of experienced counselors. This unique service allows patients to access care more promptly, bypassing the extended wait times often associated with traditional community counseling services.

Recognizing the profound impact mental health can have on physical health, our goal is to remove barriers and connect individuals with the support they need, when they need it most.

10/08/2024

As Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) week continues, today's focus is medication management in the setting of chronic disease. Certain patients have complex diagnoses which result in a complex medication regimen.
Our Community Paramedic’s review and educate our patients on every diagnosis while addressing the importance of every medication within their regimen.

In many cases, the Paramedicine team will initiate a medication reconciliation between our patient’s and a UVA Pharmacist. A conversation with a professional whose focus is medications often eases patient anxiety, answers patient questions, and reinforces the importance of compliance.

This is an area of emphasis in every visit for our team as medication management consistency is key, along with addressing ongoing medication changes. Educating and empowering our patients with their own health has had a considerable impact; one that we love to see unfold.

10/07/2024

Day 2 of Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) week, todays highlight is highlighting the work MIH providers due in the home to prevent accidents or problems before they even start. Our team evaluates every home for many safety gaps or things that may lead to injury or falls. We are looking for cords across floors, cluttered floors, unequal floors, non-working smoke detectors, and fire or water hazards. These are just a few of things our teams look for. Prevention is key and any issues found are fixed or if they are unable to be, they are referred out to local resources to correct these issues.