Portland firefighters on Tuesday will begin teaming up with Multnomah County to pick up and deliver prescription medications to vulnerable adults in the city during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We really have a desire to touch those isolated, older folks and get some eyes on them,’’ said Lisa Reslock, a Portland firefighter and registered nurse who is the care coordinator for Portland Fire & Rescue Bureau’s Community Health Assessment Team, known as CHAT.
The Fire & Rescue MEDS on WHEELS outreach program will serve Portland residents who are 65 or older and have a serious pre-existing medical condition, such as heart or lung disease, hypertension, diabetes or cancer.
It’s geared to the elderly who are most at risk of contracting the new COVID-19 virus, are encouraged to remain home and have no other way to pick up their prescriptions.
The team of two firefighters will pick up prescriptions at pharmacies and deliver the medications to homes or to homeless people from a safe distance of at least 6 to 10 feet away. The firefighters also will touch base with the people and make sure they’re handling their isolation, Reslock said. The team of two firefighters may grow to include other firefighters and fire inspectors from battalions across the city.
The firefighters will provide each person with a list of resources to contact if they’re having any problems, including a so-called “Senior Loneliness Line,'' to speak with a specialist. If the firefighter has any concerns, the firefighter also may contact the county’s Department of Aging, Disability and Veteran Services directly.
Fire Chief Sara Boone said her firefighters seek to provide "a healing connection'' to vulnerable adults at a time when they may feel alone and afraid.
This flyer will be distributed to the elderly who seek delivery of their prescriptions, giving them other contact numbers for services they might need.
To use the prescription delivery service, residents must call the Fire Bureau’s referral line at 971-288-7687 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Pickups and deliveries of prescriptions will be made from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
The call taker will ask their name, address, phone number, date of birth, the prescription requested and the name of their pharmacy. The resident must contact the pharmacy and order the prescription, pre-pay by phone and advise the pharmacy that a city Fire Bureau member will be picking up the drugs. The delivery will be made at a designated time, arranged by the Fire Bureau. The person receiving the prescriptions will have to show a photo ID to get them.
The Fire Bureau’s community health assessment team typically works to try to curtail the number of people frequently calling 911 for non-emergency medical situations by connecting those callers to other medical resources or social workers, Reslock said. This new program falls within the team’s mission and will be handled within the bureau’s existing budget, she said.
Some law enforcement agencies in Oregon have started similar programs. Portland’s Fire Bureau consulted with Forest Grove police, for example, before rolling out its own prescription delivery service.
-- Maxine Bernstein
Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212
Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
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