Military veterans with high-risk health conditions who live in Tempe are getting health care in the comfort of their own homes thanks to a partnership between the Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department and the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System.  The two entities have joined forces to create a Veterans Telemedicine Program that has been helping some of Tempe’s more than 13,000 veterans conserve their health.  “Joined Forces”, a newly-produced video by Tempe11, highlights two of the veterans in the program.

The telemedicine program combines an old-fashion house call with modern technology to allow the Tempe fire department’s nursing team and the VA medical staff to concurrently monitor the program participants, who are selected by the Phoenix VA. The registered nurses provide the hands-on health assessment while a VA nurse practitioner consults with the patient via a video conferencing platform to determine their medical needs.

“Our city high-risk veterans now have an alternative to stressful and costly emergency room visits,” said Tempe Fire Chief Greg Ruiz. “We believe there are more veterans in our city who have health conditions that may benefit from this program.” Veterans can contact the Tempe fire department or consult with their VA doctor about the program, which has been in progress for about a year and was recommended to the fire department by Vice Mayor Robin Arredondo-Savage.

To read the full release on the City of Tempe website click here.

To learn more about the program, click here.

To ensure fire hydrants work properly when needed, Gilbert must effectively maintain, test, and replace these critical pieces of infrastructure.

In the past, an outside contractor was utilized to replace Gilbert’s aging fire hydrants. While contractors focused on the replacement of fire hydrants, Town employees concentrated their efforts towards preventative maintenance activities such as fire flow testing, fire hydrant painting, and fire hydrant repairs.   As Gilbert researched how to best maintain its existing infrastructure through Long Range Infrastructure Planning (LRIP), the Water Department identified that they could perform the necessary care of fire hydrants in-house, with Town employees, in a more cost-efficient manner.

In 2016, Gilbert’s Water Department increased the number of fire hydrants it inspects and maintains each year.  Inspecting more fire hydrants means that more routine maintenance can be performed and repairs made as needed to keep fire hydrants in service for the primary function of fire suppression. This allows fire hydrants to perform in a safe and reliable manner for a longer period of time, and reduces the number of new hydrants purchased for replacement.

It’s like the new car analogy—if you purchase a brand new car and never get an oil change, you can run it at a lower cost, for a little while, until the engine busts. Instead, Gilbert drives its car (maintains its fire hydrants) with routine oil changes (industry-standardized maintenance protocols) to ensure we get the most safe and reliable use out of our purchase, and that it lasts for a long time.

On top of these efficiencies, Gilbert has been able to renegotiate contracts for the price of materials to repair and replace hydrants, as well as collaborate with other municipalities to get the best deal on purchasing new fire hydrants. Now, Gilbert spends $600 less per new fire hydrant.

The infrastructure built during Gilbert’s rapid growth years requires careful maintenance, repair, and reinvestment to keep it working as well now as the day it was installed. Gilbert’s fire hydrant story is just one example of how the Town plans, in order to maintain system resiliency.