New technology will save lives in cardiac cases Beth Altena - Rockford Squire - December 18, 2008
For residents in the 700 square miles served by Rockford Ambulance, new technology will allow specialists to see test results before the patient arrives at Emergency Room doors.
New state-of-the-art technology opens new avenues of communication between ambulance and hospital staff.
In Motion Technology created the system that allows connectivity for on-board data communications, that includes patient tracking, medical monitoring devices, patient care records, GPS ambulance tracking and control center systems.
Matt McConnon of Rockford
Ambulance explained that new computers and modems provided by grants will allow ambulances to reach patients faster, and send test results, including EKGs straight to cardiac specialists at the hospital.
"It offers faster definitive care. It brings the capability of the hospital to the ambulance," McConnon said. "The cardiologist is seeing the test results before the patient gets to the hospital."
Speed is essential to treating patients in heart distress and McConnon notes that patients can be losing heart muscle every minute they are in transport. When hospital staff see EKG results and know what treatment needs to be done prior to patient arrival, they can begin preparation and be ready to go faster.
"They have time to activate the cath (catheter) lab, get the staff in, get the specialists in if they aren't there," said Chuck Premer, Rockford Ambulance Marketing and Public Relations Specialist. "They can be hanging the drugs and be 15 or 20 minutes into having the problem fixed."
Premer said chest pain accounts for about 25 percent of the ambulance service's total calls. They respond to 10,000 calls a year and perform some 5,600 transports. Transport rates can vary. Many calls turn out to be false alarms - a response to an accident where no one is hurt, or a call to a car off the road when no one is in it. "The other day we had 50 calls and only transported 15," McConnon said.
The service has five ambulances ready seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Six other ambulances are on-call three days a week. The 700 square miles of coverage is 55 percent of all of Kent County from six substations.
Regardless of whether a call is in response to chest pain or some other medical emergency, anyone who faces a ride in an ambulance in the future should appreciate the new technology. Part of the GPS communication allows dispatch to know where every ambulance is at all times. This has already allowed faster response for calls.
Ambulance drivers operate from a base of six stations, including the main building on Shaner and Ten Mile. In the past dispatch relied on drivers calling in location and trying to send the closest to a call. "We cover a lot of dirt," noted McConnon.
Now the icons of each vehicle, as well as the address of the emergency, is displayed on a map which shows exactly which is closest. McConnon said this is more helpful than people may realize. Just because one substation is Courtland Township, an address in Courtland Township may be closer to a different substation. In addition, a vehicle may on the road. At a glance dispatch can see who will get there in the least amount of time.
Purchase of the modems and docking stations, a $34,000 cost, came from a grant from the Metropolitan Medical Response System. Computers for each ambulance - another $45,000 - came from a grant from the Homeland Security Bioterrorism Defense Network.
Theoretically they will be useful in case of a catastophic event. In the meantime, every user of the ambulance system reaps the benefits.
For any patient brought into EMS care in the ambulances, first responders in these vehicles will be able to pull up the patient history through the in-vehicle computers. They will tell at a glance what special procedures may need to be followed for a specific patient.
In addition, the touch-screens of the laptops eliminate the tedious and time-consuming process of writing out a report of each tranport. The screens also eliminate the chance of a mistake in patient record due to bad handwriting. Premer admits that it is hard to write well while traveling in the back of an ambulance over different types of road surfaces.
Louise Labuda is the director of marketing at In Motion Technology. She said the new equipment is top-of-the-line and can save ambulance companies and other users money. "It used to be that each piece of equipment had to have its own modem if it was capable of transmitting," she added. "This router allows any kind of device to send data. It's future-proof." She said drivers also enjoy the directional capabilities of Global Positioning Systems to reach destinations.
She said not only is this technology for emergency vehicles and the medical field, but will also find many uses in other applications.
"Transit organizations are using it. They count the number of riders on a bus and can swipe a card instead of paying cash for the bus ride." She said with it, people in vehicles can communicate just as easily as from their offices. "This brings a bunch of new functionality."
Labuda explained that not only can this system allow ambulances and other vehicles to function to best capacity, it can greatly reduce breakdowns - a bad scenario for an ambulance in transit.
"If the oil pressure is too high, if the engine light is on, if it's time for a warranty-required mechanic visit, this system can alert the drivers to any of this," she said.
She also said the GPS capability allows dispatch to know where individual components are. "If the drivers forget a medical device during a call, that's an expensive piece of equipment. They can see where it is. 'Oops, I left the EKG at the hospial, I'd better go back and get it.'"
She said the equipment is high profile for Homeland Security because it works off satelites, not cell towers. "If something were to happen and our cell towers disappear, there is still communication," she said.
All other benefits aside, getting to the hospital faster and having care ready quicker is likely the highest priority for anyone taking a ride with Rockford Ambulance. McConnon said, "For the ones who are seriously sick and time is going to matter, this will make a huge difference."
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