The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved $450,000 to fund seven money-saving ideas submitted by city employees, with more than half of the funds going to a proposal to hire nurse practitioners to help the Los Angeles Fire Department improve its response to medical calls.
The grants will come out of a $1 million “innovation fund” that Mayor Eric Garcetti set up last year to encourage employees to come up with ideas to improve the way the city operates. The newly approved grants will be distributed over two years.
One of the winning proposals calls for spending $245,000 to hire nurse practitioners to treat patients with minor injuries, freeing up beds and reducing paramedic wait times at hospitals.
A $60,000 grant was also approved for an online system to allow the public to file lost or stolen property reports to the police department. The idea was inspired by a similar system implemented by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The council also granted $60,000 to redesign parking signs to make them less confusing and a $10,000 request to buy a 3D printer to cut down on the time and resources needed for city architects to create models.
— City News Service