Manatee County Community Paramedic Earl Kulpa has become the first internationally certified community paramedic in Florida, one of only 112 in the nation. Kulpa now he holds a high level of credentialing from the International Board of Specialty Certification (IBSC) as an internationally certified community paramedic. The Certified Community Paramedic Examination focuses on the knowledge level of experienced community paramedics, including competency in mobile-integrated healthcare, expanded EMS services in rural and urban settings, services beyond traditional emergency care and transport and various other healthcare, mental health and service needs. Community paramedicine is an emerging healthcare method that expands the reach of primary care and public health services by utilizing EMS personnel to care for individuals outside of the hospital in non-urgent settings, performing patient assessments and other preventative care measures. Since launching in 2016, Manatee County's Community Paramedic division has graduated 144 patients from the Community Paramedic Program, addressing a multitude of medical and social issues. It has also diverted more than 500 ambulance transports and received more than 675 program referrals from community partners, resulting in $818,000 in avoidable health care costs since program inception.

Manatee County Community Paramedic