What happened: Naperville, Illinois, has launched a Community Advocate Response Team (CART) aimed at handling mental health crises and community paramedicine calls. This non-transport EMS model has been operational since 2022 and is now showing measurable impact. In 2024, the CART team saved the city an estimated $5 million by diverting patients away from emergency departments and unnecessary hospital transport.
MORE | Ill. FD鈥檚 non-emergency EMS unit saves residents over $5M in first year
Watch as Ed Bauter, MBA, MHL, NRP, FP-C, CCP-C; and Daniel Schwester, MICP, highlight the significance of this development, including:
- Cost savings backed by hard data. Naperville鈥檚 EMS determined an average call cost of $5,000. By resolving 1,005 out of 1,488 incidents without hospital transport, the CART team saved significant taxpayer money while still providing care.
- A new approach to mental health calls. With a 20-minute average scene time, the CART team supports patients by connecting them with mental health resources, filling prescriptions and ensuring non-urgent issues don鈥檛 burden emergency rooms.
- A replicable model for EMS systems. The program鈥檚 success stems from framing community paramedicine in terms of financial value and improved patient outcomes, helping win support from municipal leadership and stakeholders.
The path forward: Naperville鈥檚 CART team demonstrates that community paramedicine can be both clinically effective and fiscally responsible. With overcrowded emergency departments and rising healthcare costs, this model offers a scalable solution for other municipalities seeking to modernize EMS delivery. It also opens conversations about expanding paramedic scope and fostering collaboration across disciplines, even as healthcare systems navigate funding and policy hurdles.
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