BIXBY, Okla. — Bixby Fire is now partnering with the Tulsa Fire Department to provide a different kind of response for residents who need more than a traditional emergency call can offer.
C.A.R.E.S, which stands for Community Assistance Referrals and Educational Services, handles calls involving lifting assistance, addiction treatment, peer support, and other situations that require longer-term care.
WATCH: Bixby Fire Department benefitting from Tulsa Fire partnership
Bixby Fire EMS Chief Russell Friske said it makes a big impact on smaller communities like theirs.
"We at Bixby have very limited resources in regards to mobile integrated health," Friske said.
Bixby Fire Chief Joe Sherrell said sending a standard crew to those calls creates its own problems.
"You're taking a critical resource out of service, and they can't always provide what you need because they're needing some more long term care," Sherrell said.
The partnership with Tulsa Fire began in February. Tulsa Fire Chief Michael Baker said the C.A.R.E.S. team focuses on specific residents.
"What we're doing is working with the calls that they identify as high or frequent users that need some additional support, and then our C.A.R.E.S. team is coming down to help them navigate those challenges," Baker said.
Since the partnership launched, 11 Bixby residents have enrolled in the program. Despite that relatively small number, Bixby has already seen a 73% reduction in calls and a 63% drop in emergency response.
"The CARES team is able to provide them what they need, which is reducing the emergency response volume, which helps keep our crews in service for emergencies and gets our citizens the care they need," Sherrell said.
"Partnering with TFD, who has those resources, allows us to serve our community in a different way," Friske added.
Tulsa Fire C.A.R.E.S. Navigator Dee Watkins goes on these calls for Bixby, and says it's different than typical 911 service.
"We'll see them like a personal visit case management level visit. This isn't a rapid response. We're not in a hurry. We have all the time in the world. We'll sit with them as long as we need," Watkins said.
As long as they need, and as often as they need.
"Once a week is usually where we begin. If they need more, we'll do more. If they need less, we'll do less every other week, once a month. It depends on their independent needs," Watkins said.
Baker said Tulsa Fire is considering expanding the CARES program to other surrounding small departments if the need arises.
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