Santa Clara County introduced its Nurse Navigator pilot program on Wednesday to assist 911 dispatchers in determining whether a call requires the intervention of a first responder or a nurse.

The initiative, which spans the entire county, aims to free up dispatchers to focus more on emergency service calls rather than providing medical advice.

“We handle approximately 1,100 calls daily, with over 50% being medical-related,” said Trisha Adcock, director of 911 communications.

When a call is received, dispatchers can assess whether the caller needs specialized care and, if so, connect them to a nurse for further assistance.

“Dispatchers follow a set of questions for each call, ranging from providing CPR for cardiac arrest to offering advice for minor issues like stubbed toes or toothaches. We’re focusing on lower-priority cases,” explained Nick Clay, director of Santa Clara County Emergency Medical Services. “Serious issues such as chest pain, choking, or severe conditions are not referred to Nurse Navigators.”

The nurses, based at a national call center in Dallas, Texas, are licensed in California and knowledgeable about local resources. Darryl McClanahan, regional director of Global Medical Response, noted that the nurses are trained in multiple languages and understand the specific needs of the county.

“They are exclusively assigned to California, having been involved in developing the program, so they are well-versed in the local requirements,” McClanahan said. Officials will gather and evaluate data over a three- to six-month period, and if the program meets the desired standards of response and efficiency, it may become permanent.

“Our goal is to give dispatchers more time to handle urgent calls that require fire department or ambulance resources,” Adcock said.