Colorado Springs Fire Department Pairs Wristbands with Pulsara to Improve Communication

The following is an excerpt from an article by Kasia Kerridge, originally published on kktv.com on December 12th, 2023. Check out the full article here. 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Colorado Springs firefighters are reflecting on how to better communicate with local hospitals after Club Q.

11 News spoke with the Colorado Springs Fire Department one year after Club Q, which has rolled out a tracking technology by Pulsara. Firefighters put wristbands on patients, connecting to an app, which gives real-time information to hospitals so medical staff can prepare. This is especially important for mass casualty events like Club Q.

“One learning point that we garnered from Club Q was that we didn’t make good communication with the hospital. We could have done a better job at that. They should be able to prepare and estimate how many patients they have, the severity, and this new application with the arm bands is going to help us do that,” said CSFD company officer and Lt. Jeremiah Heddings.

According to Fire Rescue 1, CSFD has 23 stations, with over 500 firefighters serving the second-largest city in Colorado. CSFD reportedly runs about 80,000 calls per year across nearly 200 square miles.

“We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare on Club Q, just driving to the scene was our prep time, if you will. But, the hospital needs and deserves that as well. Not just a heads up, but a ‘here are the patients, the severity and the timeframe of when they might be coming to your facility.’ All that can be facilitated through this application,” said Heddings.

Read the full story here

To learn more about how Colorado Springs Fire Department is providing cutting-edge care for patients, check out Journey To Success: How This Department Implemented A New Tech Tool.