PROMPT Ambulance Deploys In Motion Technology

In Motion Technology, the leader in mobile networking technologies that efficiently connect and manage equipment, information and people in the field, today announced that PROMPT Ambulance has chosen the onBoard Mobile Gateway to improve fleet tracking and communications, cut response times and lower costs.

"The Gateway is the communications hub of our ambulances," said Joe Merry, PROMPT’s Director of Operations and Communications. "It has vastly improved communications and coordination between our crews, dispatchers, municipalities and local hospitals."

PROMPT is the largest private ambulance service in Northwest Indiana, providing advanced and basic life support transportation to residents of the towns of Griffith, Highland, Munster, Merrillville and Dyer. PROMPT’s roots in the region date back to the 1880s and the great grandfather of the current owners. Today, the company has more than 500 employees and makes more than 150,000 emergency calls and wheelchair requests.

The Gateway turns each PROMPT ambulance into a mobile hotspot, providing reliable, secure connectivity to a variety of onboard systems and devices, including laptops, tablets, PDAs, and vehicle monitoring and dispatch systems. Because devices share a single, high-bandwidth network connection, the Gateway has helped PROMPT improve emergency communications, while reducing airtime costs by half.

The Gateway is equipped with the latest GPS technology, enabling dispatchers to know the precise location, direction and speed of its ambulances at all times. This allows PROMPT to dispatch the closest unit to the scene, provide highly accurate estimated arrival times, and achieve average response times of approximately 4 minutes.

The Gateway requires no user intervention -- devices power up and automatically connect -- freeing medics to focus on patient care, and not on getting technology to work. "Installation was simple, and the Gateways have been performing very well," said Merry.

"PROMPT has equipped its ambulance fleet with the latest medical and communications technology," said Tony Morris, In Motion’s VP of Sales and Marketing. "Our solutions allow data from these devices to be seamlessly and instantaneously shared with dispatchers and local hospitals, so patients in Northwest Indiana receive the fastest care and have the best possible outcomes."