Rural/Metro Medical Services enhances prehospital care

Field Supervisor Tim Perrott stands behind Rural/Metro's new Toughbook and Zoll E-series Monitor Defibrillators that are enhancing EMS care in Western New York.

Rural/Metro Medical Services has undertaken a $3 million investment in technology and equipment to improve prehospital care for patients in Western New York.

The investment includes upgrades to the company's computer aided dispatch, ZOLL E series & M series monitor defibrillators, and electronic patient care reports. These upgrades will decrease response times, increase discovery of cardiac events, increase accuracy in patient care reports, enhance patient confidentiality and make data collection more efficient.

The upgrades to computer-aided dispatch allow Rural/Metro's Communication Center to share information directly with field crews, making it possible for the crew to receive specific location information and the type of service needed on their mobile data terminal. This allows crew members to eliminate potential busy airwaves and any uncertainty over the call information caused by over-the-radio communication.

David Lichtenthal, an EMT paramedic and CQI coordinator for Rural/Metro Medical Services, said paramedics who are provided with the ZOLL E series and M series monitor defibrillators are better equipped to save the lives of those who go into sudden cardiac arrest.

The devices can be used to monitor patients and defibrillate patients experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.

"For every minute that passes, the chance of survival decreases by 10 percent," said Lichtenthal of cardiac traumas. "After 10 minutes, survival is unlikely."

The ZOLL monitors have the ability to send information to facilities, allowing medical staff to analyze the data, alert necessary personnel and, in some cases, bypass the emergency room in an effort to decrease time for patients coming in with cardiac trauma.

Electronic patient care reports take away the potential of an unreadable or incomplete report, increasing the accuracy of patient data and diagnosis.

The purchase of Panasonic CF-19s, or TOUGHBOOKS, for patient care reports reduces the use of multiple copies and the number of people who can possibly view the information.

Data collected electronically now allows Rural/Metro Medical Services and other agencies such as the state Department of Health and Erie County Emergency Medical Services the ability for further research to benefit the community.

Headquartered in Arizona, Rural/ Metro Corporation has been working with ZOLL Corporation's medical and data systems divisions and chose the Western New York division to receive the new technology first.

"The Western New York operation of Rural/Metro is a leader in prehospital care, and it is with great confidence and pride that the company chose to roll out these medical advances in the Greater Buffalo area," said Todd Walker, regional president of Rural/ Metro Corporation.

"The Buffalo team truly understood the benefit to patient care this technology and equipment can offer and stuck to a very aggressive timeline to get everything up and running," he said. "The Western New York community will continue to realize the benefits of this investment for many years to come."