BEVERLY HILLS—City of Beverly Hills Public Information Manager, Lauren Santillana indicated in a news release on April 19, that Mayor Dr. Julian Gold traveled to Sacramento to attend the League of California Cities annual City Leaders Summit to speak about the Beverly Hills Nurse Practitioner Program (NPP) and the plans to expand its services. He was joined by Beverly Hills Fire Chief Greg Barton, Beverly Hills Medical Director Dr. Marc Cohen, as well as EMS Administrator Sean Stokes.
The summit last week is the first of many for Mayor Dr. Gold, Chief Barton and staff in the coming months as they bring awareness to the benefits the program offers. Upcoming events where they will speak at include the California Contract Cities Association in Indian Wells, CA on May 20th and the Congressional Fire Service Institute in Washington, D.C. on May 23.
“Our Nurse Practitioner Program is the beginning of the future of community-based medicine,” said Beverly Hills Mayor Dr. Gold. “We are leading this pilot program to demonstrate to the country how we can put less stress on our hospitals and effectively give the care that is needed to our residents where they are at home. As we seek programs which support aging in place, it is imperative that we develop solutions like this one.”
The City’s NPP has been in place since 2019, and serves as a Mobile Integrated Healthcare solution that responds to low acuity emergency calls and helps those needing treatment in their home, addresses chronic conditions and decreases the reliance on the emergency department so that fire suppression resources can be made available.
At the Beverly Hills City Council Meeting on April 18, the Mayor and City Council approved additional funding for the program.