Central Peninsula Hospital is on track to assume control of a mobile healthcare crisis team currently operating under the Nikiski Fire Service Area. Last week, borough assembly members gave Mayor Peter Micciche permission to negotiate the transfer with the hospital as part of its operating agreement.
The Nikiski Fire Service Area got a more than $300,000 state grant in 2021 to set the program up. Initially, it was meant to alleviate strain on Central Peninsula Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic when it frequently operated above capacity. But, Nikiski fire staff always said the program could have implications beyond the pandemic.
Borough Mayor Peter Micciche told assembly members last week the borough’s excited to be acquiring the unit. He says a handful of borough staff are traveling to the Lower 48 next month to study how some of the most successful mobile healthcare crisis teams work.
“We've all talked a lot about the need for a mobile crisis team,” he said. “We're finally moving forward with an intervention service that allows us to deal with episodic engagement without involving law enforcement whenever possible.”
When Nikiski’s program got off the ground, fire service area staff said the model would preempt hospital visits for residents who live far away from healthcare facilities. The unit brings healthcare services directly to people’s doors, and then follows up, to make sure patients don’t fall through the cracks.
For the immediate future, the crisis team will continue serving residents of the Nikiski Fire Service Area. But, Micciche thinks the program can be modeled in other parts of the borough. Before that happens, he wants to make sure it's scalable. That starts with growing from the population served from the Nikiski service area to all Central Peninsula Hospital patients.
Willy Dunne, who represents the southern peninsula, suggested a similar agreement with South Peninsula Hospital. Micciche says that’d be further down the road.
“We'd want to establish the program here and make sure that we're successful before we begin expanding further,” he said. “But I think it's a natural progression, and we should keep our foot on the throttle to make sure that that does occur.”
The borough’s helped financially support the unit in recent years.
