Pulsara Blog

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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Assistance is available from the U.S. government, but local systems have important responsibilities

When a major disaster strikes, Americans are used to seeing FEMA rush in. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is typically among the first nonlocal entities to get boots on the affected ground, with a mission of evaluating damages and needs, and then activating additional federal resources as appropriate.

But while your FEMA rep might be your best friend throughout the duration of response and recovery, they’re not the only one able to assist; nor is FEMA the only body. Other arms of the federal government can be involved and provide important assets, too – for both communication and victim management.

Here are five things to know about disaster response, keeping connected, and federal assistance if and when the big one surfaces in your area.

Looking to enhance your EMS team’s ability to coordinate care and communication during Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs) and preplanned large events? Join our upcoming webinar where an expert panel of EMS leaders from TX, CO, and CA will share their insights and strategies on how to effectively streamline communication and improve patient outcomes.

Through case studies, discussion, and answering your real-time questions, learn how today’s leaders are tackling the distinctive challenges in crisis response to provide real-time connectivity among various teams, secure messaging, and shared patient view for improved situational awareness. We’ll discuss the new world of coordinating resources and triaging patients during MCIs, and how it has simplified communication and collaboration during large events, ultimately resulting in improved patient outcomes.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from the best and enhance your team’s ability to coordinate patient care, communicate with other EMS teams, and make critical decisions with confidence and ease. Register now and get ready to take your skills to the next level!

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on FireRescue1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Courtney Levin, for FireRescue1 BrandFocus Staff.

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Building muscle memory eases stress during critical emergencies

According to the U.S. Census, 29.15 million people lived in Texas in 2020. Estimates for 2022 show that figure has likely surpassed the 30 million mark as the Lone Star State continues to see a huge influx of new residents. Providing emergency medical care to that many people is an extraordinarily tall task, but one the state has worked to improve upon in recent years.

The tipping point came in 2020 as COVID-19 presented the United States with unprecedented medical challenges. Residents in Texas who needed specialized hospital care due to the virus were often caught in a tangle of delays, as medical teams weren’t always working from the same playbook.

“We heard stories across the state where multiple fixed-wing aircraft showed up at the wrong airport to pick up the wrong patient,” said Joey Branton, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at Pulsara. “They were making a minimum of 30 phone calls per patient transfer.”

While the pandemic put immense pressure on first responders and the health care system, mass casualty incidents like active shooters and natural disasters didn’t stop. It quickly became clear that those in Texas needed a better way to manage patients from start to finish.

A statewide wristband system was put in place to give every patient a unique ID that could be used across organizations. But it was the coupling of that initiative with the Pulsara platform which enabled fire and EMS providers to significantly improve their level of care.

Pulsara helps streamline communication between first responders during single-patient events and mass casualty incidents. As with any skill, confidence in using this tool comes through the muscle memory built up through regular use. “First responders in Texas realized to be truly proficient at using the efficiencies provided by the Pulsara platform, they needed to use it every day,” said Branton.

How today’s emergency management and healthcare leaders are using modern tech for patient tracking and response management around pre-planned events and major incidents

Efficient communication is critical during mass casualty incidents, hurricane evacuations, MVAs with multiple patients, or even special events. Historically, the difficulty in sharing information between various responding organizations during hazard events has made incident management challenging—not to mention when the incident extends across cities, regions, or states. New advancements in communication and patient tracking technology are transforming response capabilities, however—quickly becoming the new standard for emergency management. 

Join this exclusive roundtable discussion where Texas and Colorado emergency management and healthcare leaders will share:

• How and why they are deploying these systems locally and statewide
• The benefits and opportunities they’re seeing
• Where they see the future of emergency management communication and coordination heading 

Guest Presenters: 

• Hilary Watt, CEO/CFO/Governmental Affairs, Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council (CBRAC) in Corpus Christi, TX.
• E. Stein Bronsky, MD, Co-Chief Medical Director, Colorado Springs Fire Department, Co-Chief Medical Director, El Paso County, CO American Medical Response (AMR), and Medical Director, El Paso-Teller County 911 Authority in the Colorado Springs, CO area.

Hosts:

• Kate Leatherby, Sales VP - West at Pulsara
• Brandon Means, VP of Medical Operations at Pulsara.

WEBINAR EVENT DETAILS

Date: Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

Time: 11 AM ET |  10 AM CT |  9 AM MT |  8 AM PT

Cost: FREE

Webinar Recording? Yes. If you can’t attend the live event or want to watch it again, all registrants will receive a link to the live recording after the event.

- CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW -

When the COVID-19 pandemic flared in the state of Texas in early 2020, the state struggled to load balance their COVID-19 patients. Some areas of the state experienced overwhelming waves of surge, while other areas had available beds and resources. Matching the particular needs of complex patients with available beds and other resources necessary for each patient was difficult.

They sought out a solution that would help create a virtual placement center for smooth patient transfers—supporting effective COVID-19 management and surge mitigation and a 75% reduction in excessive phone calls.

As the pandemic subsides, EMS leaders and organizations are not just in recovery mode; they are also reevaluating and restructuring their care systems based on what they’ve learned. From routine patient transports to the largest pandemic of our lifetime to managing Texas’s devastating winter ice storm in February 2021, Texas EMS clinical leaders are using scalable mobile technology to lay the foundation for the new reality of EMS—including Mobile Integrated Healthcare, Community Paramedicine, and Telehealth.

Are your systems of care flexible and scalable enough to handle daily operations and also quickly adapt to the next disaster, active shooter incident, or large-scale event?

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. 

Editor's Note: This article was originally published by EMS1 on March 8th, 2021. 

MCHD EMS shares lessons learned in flexibility and preparedness from the winter storm that doubled call volumes and sidelined hospitals in Texas

EMS agencies and first responders were tasked with shuffling from one crisis to another when Texans faced an unprecedented winter storm in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic with COVID-19. These challenges stress-tested all EMS agencies and first responders to continue providing life-saving care during the winter storm while adjusting to the changes of providing care, setting up mass vaccination sites, and continuing our mission during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

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.

It's been a big year for large-scale emergencies. Hurricanes, floods, wildfires, a pandemic — and responding to all these disaster scenarios involves a great deal of preparation, practice, and planning. 

Recently, a panel of industry leaders and experts in EMS and emergency preparedness (including Pulsara's own CMO, Kris Kaull) got together for an exclusive fireside chat-symposium, hosted by HERE Technologies. The group talked about overcoming the obstacles of disaster preparedness and mitigation and how to build a culture of preparedness and cross-agency collaboration. As they discussed disaster mitigation for large scale public safety scenarios, they also touched on some of the latest technology that's helping to improve scenario planning. 

Read on for the top 6 takeaways, or watch the full webinar below.