COUNTY OF MONTEREY
HEALTH
DEPARTMENT
Nationally Accredited for Providing Quality Health Services
Nurse Navigation
Published on June 01, 2026. Last modified on August 13, 2026
County Of Monterey 911 Nurse Navigation Program
Program starts Tuesday, June 2nd at 9 am.
Right Care. Right Time. Right Place.
When you call 911 with a health concern, you may not need an ambulance trip to your local hospital emergency department. The County of Monterey’s new program, developed in collaboration with the local EMS provider American Medical Response and program pioneer Global Medical Response, gives certified Emergency Medical Dispatchers the option to connect you with a Nurse Navigator who can navigate you to alternative options.
RIGHT CARE
Speak with a Nurse Navigator about your specific needs.
RIGHT TIME
Using physician-approved guidelines, a Nurse Navigator quickly navigates the patient to an appropriate care option.
RIGHT PLACE
Nurse Navigators refer you to alternative care options such as local urgent care centers, clinics, telehealth services or self-care at home.
Our innovative Nurse Navigation program ensures you quickly reach the level of care based on your needs. The Nurse Navigator will listen to your symptoms, ask important questions and use physician-approved guidelines to navigate you to the right care, at the right time, in the right place – whether that’s an emergency room, urgent care center, clinic, telehealth, home care, or other healthcare setting. If an ambulance is not needed, the Nurse Navigator can work with you to arrange transportation. Ultimately, this program helps patients receive timely care while prioritizing emergency care resources for more critical needs.
If you call 911 for a health concern that is determined to be less critical, Emergency Medical Dispatchers will connect you to a Nurse Navigator who uses physician-approved guidelines to determine if an alternative care setting is appropriate. These may include an emergency room, urgent care center, clinic, telehealth visit, home care, or another care setting. Additionally, nurses can arrange transportation for patients.
If you call 911 with a serious condition or a potentially life-threatening emergency, the Emergency Medical Dispatcher will send EMS first responders to determine if you need a trip to the hospital.
Even if you’re initially transferred to the Nurse Navigation program for a non-life-threatening situation, the Nurse Navigator using the physician-approved guidelines may determine your condition requires a hospital emergency room visit as the most appropriate medical care. In those instances, they will send out an ambulance to you. A patient will never be denied an ambulance, should they decide at any stage during the screening process that they would prefer an ambulance.
Using physician-approved guidelines, the Nurse Navigator will connect you to an appropriate level of care available based on:
- Where you regularly receive care.
- Your current location and time of day.
- Local healthcare providers’ availability.
Each clinic has walk-in appointments available for County of Monterey 911 Nurse Navigation program patients. The clinic will see you as soon as possible upon your arrival on-site.
Nurse Navigators are nurses specially trained in using physician-approved guidelines that guide care in Nurse Navigation. These physician-approved guidelines determine the best course of care accordingly.
Every patient has the choice to have an ambulance respond to their 911 call. The Nurse Navigation program suggests alternative options which may better match your specific needs at likely a lower cost. Even so, this program will send an ambulance to you if one is requested.
Nurse Navigators can arrange transportation via ridesharing (Lyft, Uber, etc.).
You should call 911 for any medical emergency that you believe is or has the potential to become a serious or life-threatening condition. Examples include:
- Trouble breathing
- Chest pain
- Symptoms of a stroke
- Fainting
- A severe allergic reaction
- Severe injuries from a fall or accident
- Seizures
- Severe pain