Team Pulsara

CHI St. Vincent Adopts Advanced Communication System for Heart Attack, Stroke, and Trauma Patient Care

CHI St. Vincent became the first health system in Arkansas to implement the full suite of Pulsara communication capabilities for coordinated teams to dramatically improve responses for every patient type, including ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) heart attacks, stroke and other trauma care scenarios. Pulsara is a telehealth and communication platform that enables HIPAA compliant, dynamic networked communications between EMS, hospitals, and other healthcare providers for any patient event. Following successful Arkansas trials at multiple hospitals that saw average Door-to-Device treatment time for STEMI patients reduced by 19-percent, allowing cardiologists to get patient blood vessels reopened faster, the Arkansas STEMI Advisory Council proposed that healthcare services begin adopting Pulsara statewide in April 2020.

BOZEMAN, Mont., April 21, 2021 — Pulsara, the only mobile telehealth and communication platform that connects healthcare teams across organizations, announced today that the company has been honored as a finalist in the 2021 Excellence in Customer Service Awards presented by Business Intelligence Group.

“On the frontline of our uncertain times are customer service professionals and suppliers without whom we wouldn’t be able to live as comfortably as we have for the last year,” said Maria Jimenez, Chief Operating Officer of the Business Intelligence Group. “It is our honor to recognize Pulsara as they are leading by example and making real progress on improving the daily lives of so many.”

Editor's Note: The following blog is based on the webinar Plug the Hole! Leveraging Telehealth to Stop System Leakage, sponsored by Pulsara in collaboration with Becker's Healthcare. Their complete list of top takeaways can be found here.

With many health systems still dealing with financial stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to ensure money and market share are not lost to competitors. One way to reduce unnecessary patient transfers and revenue leaving the organization is by using a telehealth and communication platform to connect facilities.

That's what Forrest Winslow, RN, BSED, NRP, Northeast Regional Sales Manager for Pulsara, discussed during a March 23 workshop at the Becker's Healthcare Telehealth Virtual Forum. 

View the full webinar below or read on for the top takeaways you won't want to miss.  

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Tim Nowak, for EMS1 BrandFocus. 

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Delivering out-of-hospital care in rural and remote environments poses unique challenges, including distance, time to care, and other barriers to access

Being an EMS provider in a rural environment is different from serving in urban or suburban areas, but those differences are often what make it both challenging and rewarding. Operationally speaking, there are certainly some similarities between rural and urban environments, but there are also plenty of differences that make working in the woodlands, farmlands, deserts, and mountainous areas unique. In fact, these may be the very reasons that draw providers to serve in such an environment.

Pulsara is pleased to announce that The Tech Tribune selected us to appear in their top-ten list of the 2021 Best Tech Startups in Montana. According to The Tech Tribune, the featured companies were chosen based on the following criteria:

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Sarah Calams of EMS1 BrandFocus.

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In the past, the traditional way of thinking as a paramedic was often this: Get the patient in the rig and drive to the hospital as soon as possible to get the patient the care they need.

But what if the patient wasn’t being transported to the right facility?

Imagine: a paramedic recognizes on scene that they are treating a stroke victim. Their first thought is to get the patient to a hospital as quickly as possible. But what if the receiving hospital isn’t equipped or staffed appropriately to treat the patient?

Recently, Joey Branton, Pulsara's Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, had the opportunity to sit down with Brian Zimmerman of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast for a chat about "How Collaborative Mobile Communication Solutions are Transforming Healthcare Delivery." During the podcast, Joey and Brian discuss collaborative mobile communication solutions, as well as how these solutions can overlay existing healthcare tools and save hospitals money. 

Listen to the full podcast in the video below, or read on for their full discussion. 

Imagine:

You arrive on the scene of a single-vehicle MVA with two passengers. The driver is a male in his 80s, and you can see that he requires immediate transport. However, he doesn't seem concerned about himself; instead, he keeps asking about his passenger—his wife, who has died. 

What do you tell him?

Ethics is a major consideration in other allied health professions, but the topic rarely receives much attention in EMS. And when it does, most tend to assume that the same ethical considerations that apply to physicians carry over into EMS. That's not always the case. While many of the same principles do apply, their application might look different for medics. Medics often face unique situations where time is short, options are limited, and consent unavailable. And now, in the midst of a pandemic, medics face many situations where tough decisions must be made with limited resources in short order.

A more full discussion of the differences in ethics for EMS may be found here, but there are ten ethical concepts medics need to be familiar with in order to make the best possible decisions while they're in the field. 

Here are the top 10 things you need to know about ethics in EMS.

Whether you’re a medic, nurse, physician, coordinator, or QA/QI specialist, the work you do for each patient MATTERS. 

That’s why, at Pulsara, we’ve designed a communication platform that helps every member of a patient’s care team actually FEEL like they’re part of the care team. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Justin Baker for writing today's blog post. You can connect with him on LinkedIn. 

If you had asked any U.S. healthcare facility in 2019 or early 2020 if they were prepared for any emergency, their answer would likely have been yes. After all, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) enacted a rule to establish national emergency preparedness requirements to ensure adequate planning for both natural and man-made disasters. This rule also established coordination with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local emergency preparedness systems. The requirements apply to all 17 provider and supplier types, too.

With these guidelines in mind, most facilities would have told you that they were prepared for any situation. However, this was before COVID-19 struck, crippling both the nation and the healthcare industry.

For a long time, traumatic stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder have been conditions associated with those that have experienced combat or been in the military. Recently, there has been mounting evidence that first responders are also experiencing these conditions at alarming rates, and that we need to make our own mental health a priority.

For a long time mental health, self-care, and peer-care have been taboo subjects among first responders. Thankfully, that is beginning to change, and discussion of these topics has been encouraged. Knowing more about first responder mental health can help you participate in the conversation, help yourself, and help your peers.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Kate Leatherby for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. 

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Ever since I started working for Pulsara, self-reflection about communication has become an almost daily ritual. Reflecting on my career, it’s very apparent that when things haven’t gone right with projects, patient care, presentations, etc., a miscommunication of some sort has been the likely culprit.   

EMS plays a critical role in identifying, treating, and directing stroke patients into a system of care. Time is brain for stroke patients, and as the first on-scene, your response time is critical to quickly identifying stroke symptoms, alerting the right care teams, and getting the patient the care they need. Every minute you can shave off their treatment time saves tissue and makes a big difference to the patient's quality of life. 

With those things in mind, here are 10 things you need to know about stroke:

To further support care teams, Pulsara introduces Pulsara HQ, a browser-based command center that seamlessly works alongside the company’s mobile app interface. 

BOZEMAN, Mont., Feb. 17, 2021 — Pulsara, the leading mobile telehealth and communication platform that connects healthcare teams across organizations, announced today the launch of Pulsara HQ, a powerful new browser-based command center for enhanced patient coordination. Working alongside the company’s mobile apps, the browser application enables clinicians to easily manage patient status and details in a centralized location—creating a unified patient channel across all devices. Pre-registration, triage, team activation, and more can now be managed from one screen on a desktop web browser.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Rachel Zoch, for EMS1 BrandFocus. 

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Be sure to include ample space for sleep, fitness and other critical activities whether you are making improvements or building a new facility

An EMS station needs to provide the comforts of home as well as the tools for work, from restful sleeping quarters to office space and equipment storage. Energy efficiency and safety should also be top of mind, whether you are making improvements to your current station or building a new facility.

To find out more about the elements needed for a modern station, EMS1 spoke with Austin-Travis County (Texas) EMS Chief Ernesto Rodriguez, who recently oversaw the design and construction of a new EMS station for his agency.

BOZEMAN, Mont., Jan. 12, 2021 — Pulsara, the leading mobile telehealth and communication platform that connects healthcare teams across organizations, announced today that the company was named a 2021 Product Innovation of the Year Award Winner by Business Intelligence Group’s BIG Innovation Awards. Judged by prominent industry leaders and experts, the awards program recognizes the most innovative organizations and people transforming systems and industries across the globe.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Marianne Meyers, BS, for EMS1 BrandFocus. 

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Preparation, vigilance and taking care of your mental health will be key strategies as we move forward

As 2021 begins, COVID-19 vaccines have recently been approved, and it appears that the beginning of the pandemic’s end is in sight. That said, we are still experiencing large spikes throughout the country, and hospitals and EMS systems are under immense strain.

We aren’t quite on the other side, but we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Here are 10 things we’ve learned from the pandemic that can help improve other areas of EMS response:

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Sarah Calams of EMS1 BrandFocus. 

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Telehealth applications can help expand the reach of out-of-hospital care to save more lives

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare and EMS providers have found themselves relying on technology more than ever before.

Summer blockbusters may have been cancelled, but this year, we've gotten to see what it truly means to be a superhero. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and emergency responders of every kind stepped up to take care of others. They’ve chosen to be there for us in our hour of need, sacrificing their own health, safety, and even the ability to go home to be with their families at the end of long, scary, and difficult shifts. That’s the true definition of heroism. 

To celebrate these healthcare heroes, Marvel Comics partnered with Allegheny Health Network (AHN) in Pennsylvania to help tell the stories of these real-life heroes. 

EDITOR'S NOTE:This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Michael Fraley of EMS1 BrandFocus. 

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Take control of the situation and establish command as soon as possible to start triaging and transporting patients

Much has been written over the years about responding to and managing “The Big One.” The list of all the articles and books about mass casualty incident management is a long one.

Every year, we conduct tabletop drills and full-scale exercises, tearing apart retired school buses and carrying high school drama students from the “scene” and around the block to the EMS station, where they are thanked with a free lunch.