What's New

EMS and the Inauguration of Barack Obama

January 20, 2009 marked an historical event in US politics as the first black President was sworn in. This is not only a significant historical event, but also the experience of a lifetime for some EMS workers. Here´s why:

•  
  • Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the Mall,
    a crowd reaching 1,800,000 when all was said and done.
    As if the sheer volume of people wasn´t enough,
    temperatures had dropped below freezing, causing even
    more challenges.
  
  
  • To handle the growing crowd, EMS staff and units were
    called in from nearby regions to meet the challenge. There
    were close to 200 ambulances stationed in the city, and all
    crews on standby were called in. Six EMS task forces were
    formed, with section chiefs meeting every couple of hours to review the situation.
  
  
  • Medics worked feverishly, but resources were stretched thin, especially in the early hours. Crowds arrived hours before
    they were anticipated, emergency vehicles had to be cleared by Secret Service, and the requests for EMS were continuous. Crews handled 1,148 calls in a twelve hour period over the height of the festivities.
  
  
  • One of the biggest challenges was mobility – people ignored emergency vehicles, and refused to leave their prized viewing spots. Despite all the roadblocks, EMS crews were able to handle each and every call appropriately.

Such a feat is certain to be a learning experience, and several EMS leaders from across the country came to observe the management of the event with hopes of bringing new knowledge back to their home bases. As plans change and adapt, there are bound to be opportunities to learn how to improve operations in their own organizations.

To help EMS professionals solve the challenge of mobility, Commerx introduces ePCR Scribe - a handheld version of our ePCR Charter application. This enables medics to move about more freely and still have all the charting functionality of a laptop. It is often used for sporting events, by medics on bikes, festivals, and special events, such as the Inauguration described above.

For more information about ePCR Scribe, and how it can help your team, please contact Commerx EMS at 1-877-301-3883 or info@commerxems.com.

Canada´s 2009 Federal Budget

With the announcement this week of the proposed Canadian federal budget, many were happy to see $500 Million dollars was committed to Canada Health Infoway. This organization provides funding for electronic health records across the country. We can look forward to a more accurate, complete, and standardized record of our medical history as patients, and a comprehensive and detailed account of treatment as EMS and health professionals.

Electronic health records provide many benefits to society:

•  
  • Reduce waste/duplication of efforts
  • Prevent adverse drug effects
  • Better manage common illnesses and outbreaks
  • Improve access to care
  • Increase productivity
  • Provide the right information at the right time
  • Job creation
  • Connect the entire health care provision network (EMS, doctors, nurses, specialists, pharmacists, etc)

The federal budget also included funding for Aboriginal healthcare improvement, totaling $147 Million dollars over the next 2 years. This will help to integrate current practices into the provincial and territorial strategy to ensure standard practices. For more information on the 2009 Budget, click here.

For more information please contact Chelsea Webster at:
1-877-301-3883 ext 238 or chelsea.webster@commerx.com