Welcome to the Oklahoma Rise 25 and 25 RHTP podcast. In this episode we take a deep operational dive into the Expanding Care Community Paramedicine (CP) Initiative — a $31,475,000, five-year investment aimed at transforming rural access to care across 59 Oklahoma counties.

Hosts unpack the initiative's design and goals: rapidly scale a new community paramedicine workforce (training 60+ CPs per year to create 300+ practitioners), deploy 25 dedicated mobile CP vehicles, and demonstrate measurable reductions in emergency department use and hospital readmissions. We explain the two core CP service streams — treat-in-place emergency assessments and proactive, scheduled chronic-disease management and post-discharge follow-up — and how these translate into patient, hospital, and payer savings.

The episode reviews the program’s financing and accountability architecture, including the $25 million uncompensated care fund intended to reimburse providers up to $200 per visit (targeting roughly 25,000 visits per year) as a bridge to permanent Medicaid and commercial reimbursement. Listeners will hear why meticulous data collection, standardized EHR documentation, and an evidence-driven demonstration to secure a state plan amendment (SPA) by Q2 FY2031 are non-negotiable for long-term sustainability.

We walk through critical timelines and milestones — notably the first RHTP-funded training cohort scheduled for Q4 FY2026 and SPA submission in Q2 FY2031 — and explain execution risks: procurement and timing delays, administrative burden on small rural EMS employers, and the catastrophic consequences of failing to meet data compliance standards. The podcast highlights mitigating strategies, including front-loaded technical assistance funding and university-led evaluation partnerships.

The conversation situates CP within the larger RHTP ecosystem, outlining dependencies on EMS centralization (dispatch and resource optimization), HIE interoperability and EHR expansion (real-time patient data and documentation), the statewide technology cooperative (telehealth and remote monitoring), and complementary programs like transportation expansion and PACE. The episode also emphasizes the necessity of meaningful coordination with tribal health systems and respect for tribal sovereignty.

Who benefits? The episode identifies 1.58 million rural residents in targeted counties — especially older adults, people with chronic conditions, and recently discharged patients — while describing how rural hospitals, EMS systems, and the broader health economy stand to gain from reduced ED strain and improved care continuity.

Listeners will leave with clear, practical takeaways: the CP initiative is a strategic, data-driven attempt to convert short-term public investment into a permanent billable service; the immediate execution window (2026–2027) is mission-critical; and local leaders must prioritize data systems, workforce training, and interagency coordination to turn the blueprint into measurable, sustainable impact. Tune in for a rigorous, operationally focused roadmap on what it will take to make community paramedicine work across rural Oklahoma. Listeners are invited to join the Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 RHTP Task Force at Rise25in25.org or email info@rise25in25.org for more information. The Oklahoma Rise 25 and 25 RHTP Forum is produced and directed by Dr. Keley John Booth, MD.