LITCHFIELD MAN FOUND DEAD IN POOL, PAGE A2
westvalleyview.com — the newspaper of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park & Tolleson, AZ 50¢ Wednesday, March 2, 2016 (623) 535-8439
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Primary push comes to AZ State Republicans, Dems make their choice in March Presidential Preference Election by Glenn Gullickson staff writer
The presidential campaign comes to Arizona in March when voters get a chance to express their preference for candidates seeking the Republican and Democratic nominations. Ballots have been mailed to voters who are
on the Permanent Early Voting List and polls will be open on March 22 for the Arizona Presidential Preference Election. It’s the first step to select the state’s delegates for this summer’s national conventions, where the presidential candidates will be nominated. To be eligible to cast the party-line ballot,
voters must have been registered as a member of the Republican, Democratic or Green parties by Feb. 22. Those registered as independents are not allowed to vote in this election. By the time Arizona has its turn, about 30 (See Primary on Page A5)
OWLS GROUNDED Agua Fria loses to Shadow Mountain in Division II state championship game — Page A12.
Submitted photo
FIREFIGHTERS with the Buckeye Fire Department help a woman down a trail Feb. 19 at Skyline Regional Park in Buckeye after she broke her ankle.
View photo by Jordan Christopher
BUCKEYE FIREFIGHTER JIM HELMS takes Luinda White’s blood pressure Dec. 17 in her Buckeye home, while Buckeye Fire Capt. Martin Meece asks evaluating questions as part of a new program to decrease hospital readmissions.
GOOD GROUNDS Goodyear school partners with McDonald’s in coffee grounds compost program — Page A11.
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Buckeye paramedics making house calls
Firefighters keep busy in new park Crews respond to 7 rescue calls at Skyline Regional Park since January by Emily Toepfer assistant editor
Pilot program to keep patients from returning to hospital by Emily Toepfer assistant editor
In August 2015, Buckeye resident Luinda White, 78, thought she had the flu, but ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. Shortly after her release, she started having heart problems. Despite multiple tests, her cardiologist couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then White got involved in a pilot program launched by the Buckeye Fire Department, where paramedics stop by her house twice a week to take her vitals. When she gave their heart monitor readouts to her cardiologist, he was able to diagnose her with atrial fibrillation and start the proper treatment. White is among 133 patients between the ages of 18 and 92 who have been getting house calls from a handful of paramedics. The program is designed to help discharged patients stay on the road to good health and reduce hospital readmission rates. “When you can depend on them coming on a certain day at a certain time, you look forward to that, because it helps you to feel better about your situation,” White said. “Nobody wants to be in the situation where you can’t help yourself.” Since May 2015, the program has reduced
Buckeye patient readmission at Banner Estrella Medical Center, with only about 4 percent of the patients having to go back to the hospital, Buckeye Fire Chief Bob Costello said. He helped develop the Community Paramedicine Program about two years ago with Dr. Todd Clever, the fire department’s medical director and a physician at Banner Estrella Medical Center. The idea for it came about after the evolution of the Affordable Care Act and its tightening of hospitals’ readmission rates for some diseases, Costello said. The program’s goals are to provide a successful home follow-up service to bridge the gap between hospital discharge and physician follow through; develop a trust in the community by having firefighters help citizens navigate the current healthcare system; reduce readmission rates for patients in the program; and expand revenue and growth opportunities within the city of Buckeye. Buckeye patients who have suffered heart attacks, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, hip and knee replacements and other high-risk illnesses are offered a spot in the program upon (See Paramedics on Page A5)
It’s already been a busy year for rescues at Skyline Regional Park in Buckeye. Since its Jan. 9 opening, firefighters have been called out to the park, 2600 N. Watson Road, seven times, said Capt. Tommy Taylor with the Buckeye Fire Department. The most recent rescue was at about 11:50 a.m. Monday when an elderly woman got disoriented and fell about a mile up the Turnbuckle Trail, which is a three-mile loop, Taylor said. Firefighters helped the woman get to one of two helicopter pads on the trail and she was flown off the mountain by the Phoenix Firebird Helicopter, he said. She was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Taylor said. Out of the seven rescues at the park this year, four patients had to be airlifted, he said. “I think people think they’re easy trails, and unfortunately, they come unprepared,” he said. “They don’t hydrate early enough, they don’t bring enough water. The hike starts out pretty easy and next thing they know, it gets a little more difficult and they kind of push themselves.” On Feb. 19, firefighters were called to the park for back-to-back rescues, Taylor said. The first was for a mountain biker who got off the trail and crashed. A hiker called 911 and then ended up needing to be rescued (See Rescue on Page A5)