In Terre Haute, where call volume is rising and about 20% are non-urgent, the Crosswalk to Care program connects low-acuity callers to nurse-guided care, easing strain on EMS

By David Kronke
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Over the past seven years, the Terre Haute Fire Department has seen its run calls increase by 450 calls annually, 20% of which are not emergencies.

So THFD and the city of Terre Haute have launched the Crosswalk to Care program, which will divert non-urgent calls to nurse-guided navigation that will connect them with more appropriate care options. It’s a system devised by the company Crosswalk Health.

| BETTER EVERY SHIFT: Chief Dan Munsey talks visionary leadership

“Starting today, when an individual calls 911 within the city limits with a low- acuity complaint, Vigo County Dispatch will transfer them to a waiting registered nurse to assist them with their health care needs,” Nick Miller, THFD’s Assistant Chief of EMS Operations, said on Monday.

“Low-acuity complaint calls that can be solved through other means without using emergency apparatus or local emergency rooms,” he added.

“People are increasingly choosing emergency room services instead of their primary care physician,” said Capt. Nick Arnold, the THFD public information officer.

“Crosswalk Health broke down runs in 2024 and found that 20% of those runs” — or about 2,800 of some 15,000 runs annually — “are applicable to this process,” he added. This will alleviate the strain on the city’s four paramedic ambulances.

“Not every medical issue needs an ambulance or a trip to the emergency room,” Arnold added. “Sometimes there’s a better solution and a faster way to get help. This will alleviate the strain on the EMS system as a whole.”

Vigo County Central Dispatch employees were trained how to separate true medical emergencies from less urgent concerns through a series of yes or no questions, and when a call falls into the latter category, that call will be diverted to a call station in Dallas with three nurses taking calls during the day and two at night.

“They [dispatchers] had to be trained on the system,” said Brian Dehart, director of Vigo County Central Dispatch. “If somebody says a certain type of medical problem, then there’s questions they ask.”

“On a 911 call, you’ve got 30 to 90 seconds to make a decision,” said Dr. Charlie Miramonti, senior vice president of operations for Crosswalk Health. “But nurses can spend five, 10, 30 minutes with callers.”

The program is new. Indianapolis was the first flagship city to test the system in June of 2025. Lawrence was added later, and Terre Haute is now the third city to launch the program, with Evansville and Louisville considering joining the network.

Crosswalk Care’s focus will be on serving cities in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, Miramonti added.

In Indianapolis, the first nine months of data found that roughly 60% of the calls that come in don’t require an ambulance. Callers were then diverted to dental clinics, urgent care clinics, mental health resources or a place to arrange home deliveries of their prescriptions.

Every non-emergency caller will receive a follow-up within 24 hours to ensure they accessed the necessary care and to provide additional support.

Miramonti said Crosswalk’s brain trust identified the problem then came up with the solution.

“Behind Crosswalk is a large number of professionals who have been in public safety, emergency care and pre-hospital care for quite a while,” he said. “A lot of us had been brewing these conversation around — how can we evolve EMS, how can EMS agencies serve their community better.

“It’s a conglomeration of folks who have been paramedics, supervisors, fire chiefs and EMS chiefs through the years who put this together,” Miramonti added.

There is no up-front cost to the city; Crosswalk will get its payments from insurers, Arnold said.

“The Crosswalk to Care program is the latest tool in our public safety toolbox to help connect Terre Haute residents to the most appropriate medical care,” said Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun. “Not only will this new method of dispatch better support residents, but it will also ensure that our THFD staff can focus their efforts on urgent, life-threatening emergency situations.”

Ambulance calls within the city of Terre Haute are handled by THFD, and the Crosswalk program will be applied to those calls only.

Experts warn that the agency’s plan to close most of its research facilities could disrupt critical wildfire and climate data, undermine firefighting efforts and deepen a broader erosion of federal science capacity

An internal report into a 2023 blaze that killed two firefighters found equipment failures, extreme heat and a lack of modern tactics

April 10, 2026 10:36 AM

 · 

Survey responses reveal divide on industry culture, hiring standards and the future of operations

April 10, 2026 10:54 AM

 · 

Matheis spent 30 years with the Newport Beach (California) Fire Department, retiring as a division chief in 2011

April 10, 2026 12:45 PM

 · 

© 2026 The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Ind.).
Visit tribstar.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Bipartisan legislation would fund National Fallen Firefighters Foundation programs supporting Fire Hero Families through proceeds from commemorative coin sales