We sat down with Chief Cameron Haubrich and station receptionist Luis Valdez to learn more about how they’ve used COVID-19 testing to proactively engage with their community. Luis, a friendly face who greets guests at the station, is a key part of this strategy. 

“The biggest challenge was the one that we’ve just overcome – which was making us as a Fire Department readily available to our community. For so long, we’ve been forced to be reactive. But now we’ve increased our staffing – and not just administratively, but also with our line firefighters. We’ve finally had the opportunity to beef up that staffing and get to more appropriate levels. So now we’re cresting that threshold of starting to be able to be proactive rather than reactive. This partnership with Health Commons [and Department of Health] is one of the first steps in that proactivity.”

 – Chief Cameron Haubrich, Sunnyside Fire Department

WA-COVID-19 extended through fall 2023!

Did you know?

WA COVID-19 doesn’t just offer tests and technical support. We also provide funding for staff time dedicated to your testing program. 

Need additional equipment to maximize your testing services? We can support that too with funding for tablets, tablet accessories, hot spots, and signage. 

Reach out to us today to learn more about supplementary funds for your testing program.

On May 23, 2023, the WA COVID-19 program led an interactive session at the Washington Fire Chief Association’s Annual Conference in Wenatchee, Washington. 

The interactive session, “From Emergency to Sustainability: How Fire & EMS Agencies are Navigating the end of the Public Health Emergency,” used public health data, Washington State policy, and quotes from Washington state fire chiefs to prompt discussion around COVID-19 testing access, the role Fire & EMS agencies can play in closing testing gaps, and the challenges communities may face with the end of the Federal Public Health Emergency on May 11, 2023. 

During the session, representatives from 6 agencies across the state of Washington rotated through 4 different stations and addressed key questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key takeaways from the session are outlined below.

Key Takeaways

• Most Fire & EMS Agencies Played a Role in Providing New COVID-19 Services  

Nearly all agencies in the session provided new COVID-19 services (e.g., testing, vaccination) during the Public Health Emergency. Additionally, some agencies supported local public health efforts by joining incident command or staffing a responder clinic in the community. One agency, who faced significant staffing shortages, did not provide COVID-19 services like testing or vaccination. 

• COVID-19 Tests are a Helpful Tool in an EMT’s Toolbox 

Attendees noted that at-home COVID-19 tests can provide first responders with a ‘tool to help’ and that distributing at-home COVID-19 tests was ‘good for citizens.’ Additionally, participants highlighted that Fire Stations are trusted sites for resources, and that a COVID-19 test distribution program was similar to other programs – like car seat checks, helmet distribution, smoke detector installation – that agencies currently offer.

• Simple is Critical

Stakeholders emphasized that the barriers for Fire & EMS agencies to provide new services must be low for agencies to support the added work. Complexities associated with reporting and licensing are deterrents and should be minimized to ensure services can be quickly implemented and effectively delivered.

• Fire & EMS Agencies Expect Testing Access to Worsen for Key Populations 

All agencies identified key populations that would face significant barriers to access free testing supplies following the end of the Public Health Emergency. Those populations included: the unhoused, lower income, and homebound individuals including the non-ambulatory elderly. 

• State Policy Opens Door for Future EMS-based Communicable Disease Response 

Now that the Federal Public Health Emergency has ended, state policy (SHB 1893) enables EMTs to provide testing and vaccination services for communicable diseases, outside of an emergency, in coordination with a public health agency. When asked how this policy might inform each agency’s future work, agencies reflected the importance of doing activities in close coordination with local Medical Program Directors (MPD), and ensuring that there is adequate support (i.e., communications, training, direction) to support Fire & EMS agencies’ new services. One agency, which serves a very rural community in Central Washington, was interested in seeing EMT’s scope of practice expanded further to help close rural healthcare gaps.

Summary: 

Fire & EMS agencies in Washington have and continue to play a significant role in responding to the COVID-19. Distributing at-home COVID-19 tests from the station, on EMS calls, or at community events, is a lightweight way for agencies to build rapport with and provide a helpful tool to their community members. While most noted that COVID-19 test distribution provides a mutual benefit for the agency and community, a successful test distribution service may require an agency to have adequate staffing and an open-door policy at their stations.