Treat in place
A paramedic, often with a physician or advanced practitioner on video, treats the patient at home when an emergency room trip is not needed, and documents a safe plan and follow-up.
For fire chiefs, EMS leaders, and emergency department leaders
EMS, fire, and emergency care: one system, not three.
In rural Illinois the fire department, the ambulance service, the local emergency department, and the regional trauma center already depend on each other on every serious call. The Rural Health Transformation Program funds the connections between them. 618Today helps EMS systems and hospitals across Southern Illinois and the Metro East plan those connections and put the funding to work.
Fire departmentsFunding routes, recruiting, and your place in the hospital's plan.Answers for fire chiefs
EMS servicesWhat the funding pays for, treat in place, and sharing data with the hospital.Answers for EMS leaders
Emergency departmentsTelehealth, transfers, repeat visits, and working with regional centers.Answers for ED leaders
How RHTP reaches EMS
EMS funding flows through your Resource Hospital
$16.5MYear 1 EMS Enhancement funding (CSFA 3982)
IDPHadministers it and passes it to Resource Hospitals
Resource Hospitalsreceive it for their EMS systems; there is no competitive application
5other RHTP grants that touch emergency care (3979, 3980, 3983, 3984, 3985)
Illinois organizes EMS into systems, each overseen by a Resource Hospital and its EMS Medical Director. The EMS Enhancement grant goes from HFS to the Illinois Department of Public Health, which passes it to Resource Hospitals. A fire department or ambulance service does not apply to the State for it; it reaches you through your EMS system.
The State lists what the funding can pay for: expanding EMS care in rural communities and standing up models that treat people in place; training, coordination, and staffing; limited capital infrastructure; local training, apprenticeships, and hiring of new EMTs and paramedics; and related support staff and consulting.
The emergency care ecosystem
What a connected rural emergency system looks like
Community paramedicine
Paramedics make scheduled visits after discharge and for people with chronic conditions, catching problems before they become a 911 call or a readmission.
Heart attack and stroke alerts from the field
A 12-lead ECG sent from the ambulance over the cellular network lets the receiving hospital activate its cardiac team before the patient arrives. The same early notice speeds stroke care.
Communications that connect
Dispatch, field crews, and hospitals share one picture: interoperable radio, mobile data, and a patient care report that reaches the emergency department record instead of a clipboard.
Telehealth in the field and the emergency department
Video consults bring a specialist to the ambulance or to a small emergency department, so more patients are cared for close to home and transfers are the right ones.
Regional capacity and transfers
A shared view of which hospitals can take which patients, and an agreed transfer process to trauma, stroke, cardiac, and behavioral health care, reduces delays and long rides.
The map
From the 911 call to the trip home
Every serious call passes through the same five stages. Each one depends on a different partner, and RHTP touches every stage.
The call
911 and dispatch send the right resource. Mobile crisis teams (CSFA 3983) can answer behavioral health calls.
Care in the field
Fire department first responders and the ambulance service assess, treat, and send early alerts (CSFA 3982).
The decision
Treat in place, transport to the local emergency department, or go straight to a regional center, guided by EMS System protocols and telehealth (CSFA 3984).
The hospital
The local emergency department stabilizes and treats, or transfers on an agreed path to a trauma, stroke, or cardiac center.
Back home
Community paramedics, clinics, and community care teams (CSFA 3980) follow up so the patient does not cycle back.
| Partner | Role in the system | RHTP connection | What they should share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire department | First response, rescue, and in many communities the ambulance service | EMS staffing, training, and apprenticeships through the EMS system (3982) | Response data, staffing gaps, and training needs |
| Ambulance service | Transport, treat in place, and community paramedicine | Treat-in-place models and new EMTs and paramedics (3982); paramedicine is a named workforce focus (3985) | Patient care reports, transport and treat-in-place volumes |
| EMS System and Resource Hospital | Medical direction, protocols, training, and quality review | Receives and directs EMS Enhancement funding (3982) | Protocols, quality measures, and how funds are allocated |
| Local emergency department | Stabilizes, treats, and decides on transfers | Its hospital's Transformation Plan (3979); telehealth and virtual care (3984) | Transfer, admission, and repeat-visit data |
| Regional trauma, stroke, and cardiac centers | Definitive specialty care | Partners in transfer agreements and telehealth consults | Transfer agreements, response times, and outcomes back to the referring hospital |
| Mobile crisis and community care teams | Behavioral health crises and follow-up care | Mobile units (3983) and community care (3980), through IPHCA and CBHA | Referral pathways and handoffs |
| Community college paramedic programs | Train EMTs and paramedics | REACH program funding through the Illinois Community College Board (3985) | Enrollment, clinical sites, and hiring commitments |
Share only what the law allows. Patient information moves for treatment under HIPAA; planning data should be aggregate. Referral relationships must respect EMTALA, Stark, and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Questions fire chiefs ask
For fire chiefs
Can our fire department or ambulance service apply for RHTP funding?
Not directly from the State. EMS Enhancement funding goes from IDPH to Resource Hospitals, so the route is through your EMS system. Talk to your EMS System Coordinator and EMS Medical Director about how the funds will be allocated and what your service can propose.
How do we recruit and keep EMTs and paramedics?
EMS Enhancement funding covers apprenticeships and hiring. Paramedicine is also a named focus of Healthcare Workforce Expansion, and community colleges are expanding programs through the REACH program. A pipeline works best when your service, the college, and the hospital plan it together.
How does EMS fit into the hospital's Transformation Plan?
Treat in place and community paramedicine change how many patients reach the emergency department and how many are transferred. A hospital's plan should name its EMS partners and account for those changes, which is a reason for chiefs and hospital presidents to meet now.
Questions EMS leaders ask
For EMS services and EMS system leaders
What can EMS Enhancement funding pay for?
The State lists expanding EMS care in rural communities and treat-in-place models; training, coordination, and staffing; limited capital infrastructure; and local training, apprenticeships, and hiring of new EMTs and paramedics.
Will treat in place be reimbursed?
That depends on each payer's rules, which RHTP does not change. Before standing up a treat-in-place model, confirm coverage with your major payers and your EMS system so the model can last beyond the grant.
What should our patient care reports share with the hospital?
Enough for the emergency department to continue care without retelling the story: findings, treatments, times, and any early alert, sent electronically into its record rather than on paper. Treatment information can flow under HIPAA; planning data should stay aggregate.
Where does community paramedicine fit?
Scheduled visits after discharge and for people with chronic conditions reduce repeat 911 calls and readmissions. They work best when the hospital, primary care, and your service agree who refers, who visits, and how results are reported back.
Questions emergency department leaders ask
For emergency department and hospital leaders
Which RHTP grants help a small emergency department?
Your hospital's Transformation Plan (3979) sets the direction. Virtual care funding (3984) can bring specialist consults into the emergency department. Mobile crisis units (3983) and community care teams (3980) give behavioral health and social needs patients somewhere to go besides the emergency room.
How do we reduce avoidable transfers and repeat visits?
Combine telehealth consults in the emergency department, agreed transfer paths with regional centers, and follow-up after discharge from community paramedics and clinics. Each piece is funded by a different grant, so plan them together.
What should we agree with our EMS partners?
Protocols for treat in place and early alerts, how patient care reports reach your record, a shared view of capacity, and the aggregate data each side needs for its reports.
How do we work with the regional trauma, stroke, and cardiac centers?
Written transfer agreements, telehealth consults before a transfer decision, and outcome information sent back to your team. Those relationships also strengthen the regional partnership the planning grant asks for.
How 618Today helps
Planning and stewardship for the whole emergency system
System mapping
Who responds, who transports, where patients go, and where the gaps are, by county, using aggregate data only.
Partner agreements
Letters of support, transfer agreements, and data-sharing terms between fire, EMS, hospitals, and regional centers, written to respect the federal rules.
Grant stewardship
One plan and one reporting calendar across the grants that touch emergency care, so every dollar is defensible. How we steward RHTP grants
618Today Inc. is an independent advisory firm. It does not act for Illinois HFS, IDPH, CMS, or ICAHN, sells no equipment or software, and takes no vendor commissions. Sources: Illinois GATA CSFA program listings for 3982, 3983, 3984, and 3985; Illinois Community College Board RHT program notices. Compiled by 618Today, October 2026.