How Des Moines reduced ER ambulance trips

• In 2022, 82 high-volume callers were transported to the hospital by DMFD 1,450 times — an average of more than 17 times per person, according to city data.

State of play: The decrease is attributed to a new health care initiative that launched within the fire department, according to the city.

• Last year, the department launched a mobile health care unit that proactively performs in-home health checks and helps residents with chronic ailments.
• Paramedics also routinely visit local shelters and homeless encampments to help with medical complications that arise, according to a news release from the city.

The result: Although emergency calls overall increased to 33,858 last year, up 1.5% from 2023, medical-related calls declined by 1 percentage point after making up 62% of total calls in 2024.