FRENCH LICK, Ind. (October 27, 2025) – Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) has announced that the City of Westfield is the recipient of a 2025 Aim Program Innovation Award for its Fire Department Integrated Community Response Model. The city was recognized during the Annual Awards Luncheon, presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, on Wednesday, October 22, at the 2025 Aim Ideas Summit in French Lick. Westfield earned the award in the 25,001 – 58,000 population category.
The Westfield Fire Department has launched an innovative emergency response model that integrates mental health and social services into traditional fire and EMS operations. In 2022, the department hired a full-time social worker, a rare resource among Indiana fire departments, to help address growing mental and behavioral health needs. In 2025, the program expanded with a full-time paramedic to assist residents with chronic conditions and mobility challenges. Together, the team has reduced unnecessary emergency calls by focusing on root causes like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and social barriers.
Westfield Fire Department also expanded the Community Connect platform, allowing residents to share vital information, such as medical conditions, mobility issues, pet locations, and emergency contacts, before an emergency occurs. The combination of proactive outreach and smarter response has reduced repeat calls, improved efficiency, and delivered more compassionate care.
Aim CEO Matt Greller praised the program, saying “First responders encounter citizens during what is typically among the individuals’ worst days. Therefore, when cities like Westfield invest innovative solutions, such as their innovative response model, their work should be recognized, allowing all Hoosier municipal leaders to review the program to determine if something similar could work in their own communities.”
The Program Innovation Award honors municipalities that have successfully developed and implemented creative new approaches to delivering services or conducting municipal operations. Awards are presented in multiple population categories based on nominations received.
In its 49th year, the Aim Annual Awards program, presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC, recognizes communities and individuals in municipal government for excellence and outstanding achievement. A seven-member panel of qualified judges selected this year’s winners from a competitive field of nominees from around the state.
Conference Facts:
2025 Aim Ideas Summit
October 21-23, 2025
French Lick Springs Resort | French Lick, Indiana
Attendance: 1,100 (pending final registration count)
Further information: www.aimindiana.org
Since the 1890s, Aim, formerly the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, has been an advocate for Indiana municipalities. Aim is the official voice of municipal government in Indiana, with more than 460 cities and towns as members. Our purpose is to foster, promote and advocate for the success of Hoosier municipalities as laboratories of innovation, hubs of talent and the engines driving our state’s economy.