CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital and EMS Partners Leverage Pulsara for Cardiac Care

On July 14th, 2025, CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital in Durango, Colorado announced via a press release that they have been partnering with local EMS organizations to improve cardiac care. The collaboration, which began in February 2025, leverages Pulsara to reduce treatment times and improve outcomes for patients experiencing cardiac emergencies. Already, the initiative has yielded impressive results and has been a positive experience for the teams involved.

“Our partnership with local EMS agencies, combined with the implementation of Pulsara, is a critical step forward,” said Josh Neff, President of Mercy Hospital. “By enabling real-time transmission of vital cardiac data from the field to our care teams, we’re not only accelerating treatment times—we’re saving lives.”

Using Pulsara, EMS teams can transmit critical data—such as ECGs, vitals, and clinical observations—directly from the field to Mercy Hospital’s cardiac and emergency care teams. This advance notification allows the hospital to assess patients before arrival and prepare the cardiac catheterization lab, helping streamline care and reduce delays.

According to Mercy’s Cardiovascular Program Manager, Shelley Langenhorst, since implementing Pulsara, the team has consistently achieved its goal of treatment within 90 minutes from EMS first contact to artery reperfusion—meeting a key national benchmark for heart attack care.

EMS agencies including Upper Pine EMS, Durango Fire & Rescue EMS, Pagosa Springs EMS, and Los Pinos EMS have quickly adopted the platform. Durango EMS Chief Scott Sholes noted the system has improved communication and simplified workflow: “Our staff values this new system and partnership with Mercy. It’s easy to use and resolved some of the communications challenges of the past.”

Upper Pine River Fire Protection District’s Fire Chief, Bruce Evans, also reported how the partnership and technology have considerably improved paramedic and EMT performance. “At Upper Pine, everyone comes to work to make a difference, and these key performance indicators allow us to track quality and provide valuable feedback to our team. Historically, there's been a disconnect between radio calls from the field and the hospital, leading to a lot of variation. Pulsara helps standardize that transmission with a template that works from the moment our crews make first contact with the patient, all the way to reperfusion in the cardiac catheterization lab at Mercy Hospital in Durango.”

The program includes ongoing training and aims to expand to other critical care areas. It’s a model of regional collaborators driving faster, smarter care for their communities. To learn more about how CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital and prehospital organizations are improving cardiac care for the Four Corners region, read the full press release here.