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7 min read

Getting Your Community Paramedicine Program Off the Ground

By Team Pulsara on Jun 29, 2023

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

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine
8 min read

Setting the Table for Community Paramedicine

By Team Pulsara on Jun 07, 2023

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

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It’s not as hard to get started as you might think – follow these initial steps

Few experienced paramedics need to be persuaded of the value of community paramedicine – they’ve seen the repeat 911 callers, the chronic problems and the social factors that trap people in cycles of poor health. But against so many problems so large, it’s hard to know where to begin. Who should a CP program serve? What should it try to do?

The good news is, the answers to those questions aren’t unknowable, and it’s not as hard as you might think to get a basic program up and running. Here is a guideline for departments willing to take that step toward more comprehensive care for the vulnerable in their communities.


Step #1: Assess your needs

You might have certain interventions in mind from the outset. But whatever your program does should be based on data, not impressions or anecdotes. Focus on what your population needs, not what you want.

“It really is important that you do what’s right for your community,” said veteran EMS writer and educator Hilary Gates, MAEd, NRP, director of educational strategy for Prodigy EMS and a volunteer paramedic with the Alexandria Fire Department in Virginia, whose community paramedic program she helped found in 2017. “If you start by saying, ‘I’d like to help solve the opioid crisis,’ you might find there’s actually more meth in your community than opioids.”

Identifying appropriate areas for intervention best begins with a needs assessment – an evaluation of areas where current conditions fall short of expectations. Veteran providers may already have a sense of such areas in their communities, and agency ePCR data can yield insights into call types and frequencies. Sources like NEMSIS (the National EMS Information System), CARES (the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival) and top EMS software companies can also provide data to get you started.

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine
8 min read

6 EMS Response Tips for Mental and Behavioral Health Calls

By Team Pulsara on Apr 21, 2023

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

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine Mental Health
13 min read

How Fire and EMS Can Save Time and Resources with Telehealth (PT2)

By Kinsie Clarkson on Jan 04, 2023

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teller County, Colorado, had a successful community paramedicine program in place. But as the pandemic hit the U.S., they knew they'd need to leverage new tools to continue treating their patients. Fire and EMS leaders partnered with Pulsara to enhance their community paramedicine program with telehealth. Since then, the program has evolved into a thriving partnership between EMS and a local organization of board-certified emergency physicians, allowing them to work together via telehealth to help address healthcare disparities and improve access to care in rural areas.

In a recent webinar, EMS leadership in Teller County, Colorado, shared their experiences around building the program, and how they are using telehealth as a force multiplier to preserve resources while also better meeting the needs of their community. Here are 7 top takeaways from their experience. 

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health Telehealth
21 min read

How Fire and EMS Leaders Are Turning Telehealth into a Force Multiplier (PT 1)

By Kinsie Clarkson on Nov 17, 2022

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teller County, Colorado, had a successful community paramedicine program in place. But as the pandemic hit the U.S., they knew they'd need to leverage new tools to continue treating their patients. Fire and EMS leaders partnered with Pulsara to enhance their community paramedicine program with telehealth. Since then, the program has evolved into a thriving partnership between EMS and a local organization of board-certified emergency physicians, allowing them to work together via telehealth to help address healthcare disparities and improve access to care in rural areas.

In a recent webinar, Dr. Jeremy DeWall, EMS Medical Director at UCHealth Pike's Peak Regional Hospital, and James McLaughlin, Director of Community Paramedicine at Ute Pass Regional Health Service District, shared about their experience with building the program, and how they are using telehealth as a force multiplier to preserve EMS resources while also better meeting the needs of their community. 

Watch the full webinar below, or read on for part 1 of our webinar coverage. 

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health Telehealth
2 min read

Closing the Gaps: Plug Holes in Your Skillset [Free eBook]

By Team Pulsara on Jul 06, 2022

While it’s essential that EMS providers stay on top of core clinical skills for the most critical calls, such as sudden cardiac arrest and airway management, it’s also important to keep up with the skills to address issues you may not see as often. From treating burns to managing pain in pediatric patients to responding to mental health calls, new information on best practices can help you hone your practice. 

In partnership with EMS1, Pulsara is releasing a free eBook collection of popular "10 Things You Need to Know" articles, with recent input from EMS professionals on subjects that can help improve clinical practice and save money for EMS organizations. 

GET THE GUIDE - Closing the Gaps: Plug Holes in Your Skillset and Cracks in Your Budget

Topics: EMS Telemedicine Community Paramedicine Telehealth Funding
11 min read

How Telemedicine, Community Paramedicine & ET3 are Changing EMS: 10 Things You Need to Know

By Team Pulsara on Jun 22, 2022

2023 UPDATE: As reported by JEMS.com on 6/28/23, the federal government is ending the ET3 program. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “This decision does not affect Model Participants’ participation in the Model through December 31, 2023.” Read the full article on JEMS for more details: ET3 Program Comes to an Abrupt End. Please be advised that Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine are separate initiatives unaffected by the ET3 program termination.

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

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Here’s how your agency can use telehealth and community paramedicine to deliver more personalized care to patients

Community paramedicine, mobile integrated healthcare and ET3 are rapidly becoming hot topics in EMS as the profession evolves, especially as the long tail of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates issues like ambulance turnaround times.

As ambulance agencies worldwide struggle with long waits at the ED, it’s become even more vital to find solutions to issues like ED overcrowding and long wall times. Community paramedicine, MIH and ET3 possess the unique ability to reduce transports while simultaneously improving care for patients.

Here’s a look at 10 ways EMS agencies can use telehealth and community paramedicine to deliver high-quality care to patients, some of the advantages of implementing such strategies, and how the ET3 model supports this approach.

Topics: EMS Telemedicine Community Paramedicine Telehealth
3 min read

Austin-Travis County EMS Leverages Pulsara in Successful ET3 Program

By Kinsie Clarkson on Jun 13, 2022

Editor’s Update: As reported by JEMS.com on 6/28/23, the federal government is ending the ET3 program. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “This decision does not affect Model Participants’ participation in the Model through December 31, 2023.” Read the full article on JEMS for more details: ET3 Program Comes to an Abrupt End. Please be advised that Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine are separate initiatives and are unaffected by the ET3 program termination.

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When the COVID-19 pandemic first surged across the U.S., it created many new problems for EMS organizations everywhere. Some patients infected with COVID-19 urgently needed care at the hospital, while others were best served by staying home. It was difficult to tell which was which. Patients with other ailments were stuck at home, unable to receive regular needed medical care. And on top of that, the pandemic was a major provider safety issue; medics and hospital staff put their lives on the line daily to care for patients, constantly risking exposure to the virus.

Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) based in Austin, Texas, knew they needed to deploy an innovative solution, and fast. They responded by forming what came to be known as the C4 unit: the Collaborative Care Communication Center.

The C4 is an elite team of twelve EMS-trained clinicians who manage calls and connect patients with a variety of resources. At the start of the pandemic, they began using Pulsara, a healthcare communication, telehealth, and logistics platform, to build better communication with their teams. Through Pulsara, they sent alerts to the hospital about crews bringing in COVID-19 patients, giving hospital staff more time to prepare. And since the providers on-scene wore heavy PPE, making it difficult to communicate verbally, the C4 was able to use Pulsara to facilitate communication for them and manage the case remotely.

But as the pandemic evolved, so did the challenges faced by healthcare providers. By the time ATCEMS was facing its third wave of the pandemic in August 2021, local hospitals were maxing out capacity and lacked both the beds and the bandwidth to care for every patient that came through their doors. ATCEMS knew they needed a way to reduce the burden on emergency departments.

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health
11 min read

The Future of EMS: An Interview with Corey Ricketson (Part 2)

By Kinsie Clarkson on Dec 01, 2021

The past two years have done a great deal to redefine the shifting identity of EMS. COVID-19 changed a lot about how we provide care, and some of the solutions we came up with have led to a watershed of self-discovery. With that, though, comes an equal number of questions. What does the shifting landscape of healthcare mean for EMS? What will the role of EMS be going forward? As the identity of EMS evolves and medics are given more agency, will they be able to help find solutions for problems like overcrowded emergency departments, while also giving patients both a better and more appropriate care experience? 

Corey Ricketson, Pulsara's Vice President of Strategic Accounts, recently had the opportunity to discuss these and other hot topics in EMS with Chris Cebollero on The Inside EMS podcast, hosted by EMS1. Corey shares his experiences visiting multiple EMS agencies throughout the country, as well as some top takeaways from how leading EMS agencies are finding solutions to issues like ED overcrowding. Chris and Corey talk community paramedicine, how EMS needs to adapt for the future, the importance of meeting patients where they are, and how interoperability, connection, and communication should be a main focus for EMS agencies.

Listen to the podcast below, and read on for part 2 of the interview! (If you missed part 1, check it out here.)

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health Telehealth
12 min read

The Future of EMS: An Interview with Corey Ricketson (Part 1)

By Kinsie Clarkson on Nov 29, 2021

The past two years have done a great deal to redefine the shifting identity of EMS. COVID-19 changed a lot about how we provide care, and some of the solutions we came up with have led to a watershed of self-discovery. With that, though, comes an equal number of questions. What does the shifting landscape of healthcare mean for EMS? What will the role of EMS be going forward? As the identity of EMS evolves and medics are given more agency, will they be able to help find solutions for problems like overcrowded emergency departments, while also giving patients both a better and more appropriate care experience? 

Corey Ricketson, Pulsara's Vice President of Strategic Accounts, recently had the opportunity to discuss these and other hot topics in EMS with Chris Cebollero on The Inside EMS podcast, hosted by EMS1. Corey shares his experiences visiting multiple EMS agencies throughout the country, as well as some top takeaways from how leading EMS agencies are finding solutions to issues like ED overcrowding. Chris and Corey talk community paramedicine, how EMS needs to adapt for the future, the importance of meeting patients where they are, and how interoperability, connection, and communication should be a main focus for EMS agencies.

Listen to the podcast below, and read on for part 1 of the full interview! 

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health Telehealth
3 min read

PRESS RELEASE: Groundbreaking Telehealth Program Reaching Rural & Underserved Populations

By Team Pulsara on Aug 16, 2021

Teller County, CO develops a first-of-its-kind telehealth program using Pulsara as the backbone for rural health communications

BOZEMAN, Mont., August 16, 2021 — Pulsara, the leading mobile telehealth, communication, and logistics platform that unites healthcare teams and technologies across organizations during dynamic events, published new details on Teller County, Colorado’s groundbreaking community paramedicine and telehealth program. Reporting on their initial challenges, the solutions they found, and results, the “911-INITIATED TELEMEDICINE: Next-Level Patient Care for Rural Colorado” case study reveals a new pathway forward for EMS agencies across the globe.

As COVID-19 escalated across the country in early 2020, EMS and hospital leaders in Teller County, CO identified that residents were reluctant to seek care—for any condition—at the hospital. “Up to 40% of our EMS volume does not want to go to the hospital once 911 arrives,” said Dr. Jeremy DeWall, EMS Medical Director for the Teller region. “Looking at our numbers, the fear was that we were missing a large group of people who were without healthcare or afraid to go to healthcare because of COVID-19.” 

Leveraging their already thriving community paramedicine program, Teller County’s Ute Pass Regional Health Service District and Emergency Medical Specialists, PC set in motion a new 911-initiated telemedicine program, utilizing Pulsara’s telehealth capabilities to address the acute needs of the community. 

Topics: Press Community Paramedicine COVID-19 Telehealth
3 min read

How Telehealth is Transforming Behavioral Health Patient Care (Video)

By Nathan Williams on Aug 09, 2021

Mental health is a growing need around the world. Over 50 million people in the United States alone1 in 5 adultsare dealing with mental health issues. And the trend extends to all ages; 1 in 6 young people in the U.S. between the ages of 6 and 17 struggle with mental health. Living through a global pandemic has only made matters worse. In May 2021, Children's Hospital Colorado declared a state of emergency for pediatric mental health

Over the past few years, Ute Pass Regional Health Service District in Teller County, Colorado, has set out to improve care for mental health patients. They built a top-tier community paramedicine program uniquely trained to respond to mental health calls. They also equipped their community paramedics with Pulsara, a healthcare communications, telehealth, and logistics platform. The result is a dynamic program that meets mental health patients where they are. 

Topics: Telemedicine Community Paramedicine Telehealth Mental Health
2 min read

Teller County, CO Leverages Pulsara for First-of-Its-Kind Telehealth Program (Case Study)

By Kinsie Clarkson on Aug 02, 2021

911-Initiated Telemedicine: Next-Level Patient Care for Rural Colorado


As EMS and hospital leaders in Teller County, Colorado watched cities like New York grapple with COVID-19 in March of 2020, they knew they needed to carefully plan their response. Fear of the virus spread even faster than the virus itself, and it quickly became apparent that nearly half of Teller County’s residents were reluctant to seek care—for any condition—at the hospital.

Dr. Jeremy DeWall, EMS Medical Director for the Teller region, observed the trend firsthand. “Up to 40% of our EMS volume does not want to go to the hospital once 911 arrives,” he said. “Looking at our numbers, the fear was that we were missing a large group of people who were without healthcare or afraid to go to healthcare because of COVID-19.”

Teller County has a robust and successful community paramedicine program, and were already using Pulsara, a healthcare communication and telehealth platform, for EMS and hospital communication when COVID-19 hit. Their paramedics were accustomed to securely sharing patient information and communicating with the hospital through the Pulsara platform.

That gave James McLaughlin, Director of Community Paramedicine at Ute Pass Regional Health Service District, an idea. McLaughlin joined forces with Dr. DeWall and Emergency Medical Specialists, PC to set in motion a 911-initiated telemedicine program, allowing community paramedics to continue to serve patients and get them examined by a board-certified emergency physician—from their homes. 

Read the case study (or download it here) to learn how UPRHSD and EMS, PC worked together to continue to care for patients through the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching underserved populations and providing their community with a personalized, high-quality level of care. 

To learn more about how hospitals and EMS organizations are using Pulsara to improve communication, reduce treatment times, and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, check out our customer success stories

Topics: Telemedicine Community Paramedicine Telehealth Customer Success Rural Health
13 min read

10 Things EMS Providers Need to Know About Responding to Mental Health Calls

By Team Pulsara on Jul 12, 2021

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

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Community paramedics are pioneering new ways to care for mental health patients – here’s how

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, EMS providers have seen an alarming uptick in patients refusing to go to their doctor’s office or the emergency room. Many others – including those with urgent conditions – have even been hesitant to call 911.

“We saw patients who were just foregoing all of their medical care – they were ignoring their emergency conditions,” said James McLaughlin, director of the community paramedicine program at Ute Pass Regional Health Service District in Woodland Park, Colorado.

To ease his community’s fears, McLaughlin introduced a new Healthcare Options Mobility and Engagement, or HOME, program, which pairs an in-home paramedic visit with a telehealth consult by a physician – like Dr. Jeremy DeWall, EMS medical director at Ute Pass Regional Health Service District.

Topics: Telemedicine Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health Telehealth Customer Success Wellness Mental Health
9 min read

10 Things to Know About the Changing Scope of Out-of-Hospital Care

By Team Pulsara on May 10, 2021

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

EDITOR'S UPDATE: The ET3 program is mentioned throughout the below article. Please note that, as reported by JEMS.com on 6/28/23, the federal government is ending the ET3 program. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “This decision does not affect Model Participants’ participation in the Model through December 31, 2023.” Read the full article on JEMS for more details: ET3 Program Comes to an Abrupt End. Be advised that Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine are separate initiatives and are unaffected by the ET3 program termination.

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health
3 min read

Study: Community Paramedicine Is “Growing in Impact and Potential”

By Kinsie Clarkson on Apr 14, 2021

A Canadian study published prior to the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that community paramedicine programs are improving care and outcomes for patients. 

According to researchers Michael J. NolanKatherine E. Nolan, and Samir K. Sinha, there is a growing need for a more flexible, sustainable model of care to deliver high-quality healthcare within communities—and in Canada, community paramedics are being recognized as uniquely positioned to deliver exactly that. 

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine Canada
4 min read

Preventing Readmissions with Post-Discharge Care and Pulsara

By Josh Jordan on Mar 19, 2021

Wow! Was 2020 a doozie or what? COVID-19 took a toll on our healthcare system, resources, economy, and the way we do business. We survived rolling epicenters of virus surge on a national scale. Needless to say, it’s been a chaotic year. 

Topics: Telemedicine Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health COVID-19 Pulsara PATIENT Telehealth Post-Discharge Care Readmissions
6 min read

How Video Streaming Benefits Everyone Involved in an EMS Call

By Team Pulsara on Dec 11, 2020

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 help EMS and hospital providers deliver better patient care, faster


With today’s advanced technology, anyone can use their smartphone, tablet, or computer to connect via real-time video to talk with anyone around the world.

Yet, in the healthcare system, video streaming has remained static, convoluted, and complicated.

Topics: EMS Telemedicine Technology Connected Teams Community Paramedicine Inter-Organization Communication Telehealth
4 min read

What Is EMS? A Brief Guide to Emergency Medical Services

By Kinsie Clarkson on Dec 09, 2020

Emergency Medical Services—EMS, for short—is a branch of healthcare, public health, and public safety that responds to calls for help, 24/7, in almost every community in our nation. EMS encompasses a number of different services and roles, providing vital lifesaving care for patients during times of emergency. There are around 1.05 million licensed EMS professionals across the U.S. and nearly 623,000 of these are EMTs, while over 268,000 are paramedics. 

Topics: EMS Time Sensitive Emergencies Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health COVID-19
9 min read

911-Initiated Telemedicine: How Clinical Leaders Are Using Mobile Tech

By Kinsie Clarkson on Oct 12, 2020

As hospitals and EMS agencies in Colorado Springs, Colorado, watched organizations around the world respond to COVID-19, they began to anticipate what their own response would look like. “We got to watch what happened in Italy and Europe and then subsequently in New York,” said Dr. Matt Angelidis, the co-medical director for the Colorado Springs Fire Department and AMR, and emergency physician for UC Health at Memorial Central, Memorial North, and Pike's Peak Regional Hospital. “We had time to think about, ‘Is there a better answer, or do we have an alternate way that we can take care of these patients and deliver care?’”

Topics: EMS Community Paramedicine COVID-19 Pulsara PATIENT HIPAA Customer Success