Western Wisconsin Health - Baldwin, 2025 Community Benefits
Community Paramedic Program
Western Wisconsin Health serves a resilient and close-knit rural community of approximately 13,500 residents across a 220-square-mile service area. The community is deeply committed to delivering high-quality services with compassion and respect, promoting healthy lifestyles, and fostering thoughtful community development.
Like many rural areas, the community faces significant challenges, including limited transportation options, housing shortages, and gaps in mental health and aging services. Food insecurity rose sharply in 2024, with the local food pantry serving over 40,000 individuals, and mental health resources remain strained, particularly for underserved populations and those lacking family support.
In May 2016, Baldwin Area EMS, in partnership with Western Wisconsin Health, launched the Community Paramedic Program, a pioneering initiative designed to expand access to non-emergent healthcare services directly within patients’ homes. The program proactively serves underserved, chronically ill, and high-risk populations, removing barriers such as transportation challenges and lack of family support.
The Community Care Paramedic provides:
Since its inception, the program has conducted over 1,600 in-home visits, demonstrating measurable improvements in patient outcomes, care coordination, and trust between providers and patients. Recognizing increased demand, WWH and Baldwin Area EMS jointly hired a dedicated Community Paramedic in February 2025 to ensure continuity of care and strategic expansion. This role integrates seamlessly with WWH’s electronic medical record (EMR) system, enabling direct documentation, secure messaging with primary care providers, and real-time care plan updates.
Currently, the paramedic operates two days per week (Mondays and Thursdays), but rapid growth in patient volume has led to a full schedule of home visits, with plans to expand to five days per week. The integration of this shared model ensures that patients are engaged at every stage, from hospitalization to discharge to home care, improving continuity, safety, and outcomes.
The Community Paramedic Program exemplifies rural healthcare innovation by:
Through this innovative collaboration, Western Wisconsin Health and Baldwin Area EMS demonstrate how rural communities can lead with creativity, compassion, and strategic partnership to transform care delivery.
Like many rural areas, the community faces significant challenges, including limited transportation options, housing shortages, and gaps in mental health and aging services. Food insecurity rose sharply in 2024, with the local food pantry serving over 40,000 individuals, and mental health resources remain strained, particularly for underserved populations and those lacking family support.
In May 2016, Baldwin Area EMS, in partnership with Western Wisconsin Health, launched the Community Paramedic Program, a pioneering initiative designed to expand access to non-emergent healthcare services directly within patients’ homes. The program proactively serves underserved, chronically ill, and high-risk populations, removing barriers such as transportation challenges and lack of family support.
The Community Care Paramedic provides:
- Chronic condition management
- Diabetes care and education
- Medication management and adherence support
- Wound care and infection assessment
- Home safety evaluations and fall prevention education
- Lab collection, INR testing, and vital sign/weight monitoring
- Mental health care coordination
- Hospital discharge follow-up and transitional care
Since its inception, the program has conducted over 1,600 in-home visits, demonstrating measurable improvements in patient outcomes, care coordination, and trust between providers and patients. Recognizing increased demand, WWH and Baldwin Area EMS jointly hired a dedicated Community Paramedic in February 2025 to ensure continuity of care and strategic expansion. This role integrates seamlessly with WWH’s electronic medical record (EMR) system, enabling direct documentation, secure messaging with primary care providers, and real-time care plan updates.
Currently, the paramedic operates two days per week (Mondays and Thursdays), but rapid growth in patient volume has led to a full schedule of home visits, with plans to expand to five days per week. The integration of this shared model ensures that patients are engaged at every stage, from hospitalization to discharge to home care, improving continuity, safety, and outcomes.
The Community Paramedic Program exemplifies rural healthcare innovation by:
- Breaking traditional care barriers – Bringing care to patients who otherwise face transportation, financial, or eligibility challenges.
- Leveraging partnerships – Uniting Baldwin Area EMS and Western Wisconsin Health under a shared staffing and operational model.
- Embedding care coordination into clinical workflows – Through EMR integration and real-time communication with providers.
- Focusing on proactive, preventive care – Reducing hospitalizations and readmissions through early identification and intervention.
Through this innovative collaboration, Western Wisconsin Health and Baldwin Area EMS demonstrate how rural communities can lead with creativity, compassion, and strategic partnership to transform care delivery.
