Westcoat said that even reducing the load by a few percent would ease the stress on the system. "I think it would be easy to save a bunch of money," she said.
In any case, Sharfstein said, the main focus was not on lowering call numbers, but on helping repeat callers.
Westcoat said health insurance was often a key problem for the high-volume callers. She said about half of the repeat callers were not insured; most of these were probably eligible for some coverage, she said. Most of the repeat callers are between 40 and 60 years old.
Westcoat estimated that perhaps 120,000 of the city's 600,000 residents lack health insurance. "That's very high," she said. "That's completely unacceptable."
The program will begin Monday. Baltimore Healthcare Access will devote one nurse and five case managers to the work, Westcoat said.
In March, Washington began a similar program. The District of Columbia health department identified 30 people who made a total of 2,400 calls. The top dialer phoned in 243 times.
In response, the D.C. government set up a program known as Street Calls. City workers regularly visit the callers to educate them about 911, and to help them with medical issues.
david.kohn@baltsun.com
