Team Pulsara

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Justin Baker for writing today's blog post. You can connect with him on LinkedIn. 

While the world has dealt with the far-reaching impacts of COVID-19, the healthcare community has had to deal with many unique challenges. Coming up with and implementing procedures to protect both patients and staff from possible exposure to the virus is a tricky process, especially when in some locations, hospitals have also been dealing with patient surges. Keeping up with routine scheduled visits and elective procedures then becomes even more difficult. As a result, telemedicine has become commonly used for patient care visits and follow up appointments. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Scott Stanley for writing today's blog post. You can connect with him on LinkedIn. 

Change can be like traveling to a different country and driving on the opposite side of the road.

In January of this year, I was afforded the opportunity to travel to Australia to work with a new client and bring them on to our platform. I made sure I had all of my travel documents, a comfortable neck pillow for the 15-hour flight, and plenty of movies downloaded on my iPad. When we landed in Melbourne, I was all smiles as I experienced what an amazing country Australia is for the first time. My co-worker asked if I minded driving first, and I said not at all. I opened the door on the left side of the SUV to get in, and to my surprise, there was no steering wheel. Yup, in Australia, you sit on the right side of the vehicle and drive on the left side of the road—the opposite of what I'm used to in the United States.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In July, EMS1, Fitch & Associates, and the National EMS Management Association released their third annual EMS Trend Report, proudly sponsored by Pulsara. Because the articles and advice found within contain such critical subject matter, we've elected to publish each segment one at a time here on our blog. This excerpt is from The Consequences of Lost Passion for the Job, the third entry in the 2020 Trend Report. Read, enjoy, share, and take to heart the following information brought to you by the most prestigious thought leaders in EMS. 

About the Author: Anthony Minge, EdD, is a senior partner at Fitch & Associates. Prior to joining the firm, he was the business manager for Northwest MedStar in Spokane, Washington, one of the largest air medical programs in the Pacific Northwest. He holds a Doctor of Education degree in organizational leadership.

Improve compensation, career path and safety to recruit the next generation, and retain the current EMS workforce

Parents typically hope for more for their children. This is not just a financial goal, but one of happiness and satisfaction, including a career that is gratifying. Parental encouragement and influential adults are contributing factors in young people’s career decisions that cannot be discounted. Many have followed in the footsteps of a parent, teacher, or other mentor who provided encouragement and endorsement of a particular field. There was a time when children took their parents to school and presented them to the class, bragging about what mom or dad did for a career. This year’s data suggests that not as many public safety/EMS parents are guests at show-and-tell.

BOZEMAN, Mont., Sept. 4, 2020 — Pulsara, the leading telehealth and communication platform that connects teams across organizations, announced today that the company’s product Pulsara PATIENT has been honored as a 2020 EMS World Innovation Awards Finalist. As one of the most prominent voices in the prehospital emergency medical services community, EMS World employs the Innovation Awards program to recognize the industry’s most groundbreaking products of the year.

September 2, 2020 - Bozeman, Montana - Pulsara recently announced the release of app version 11.0. Full release notes are as follows.

EDITOR'S UPDATE: The ET3 program is mentioned in the article below. 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.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Last month, EMS1, Fitch & Associates, and the National EMS Management Association released their third annual EMS Trend Report, proudly sponsored by Pulsara. Because the articles and advice found within contain such critical subject matter, we've elected to publish each segment one at a time here on our blog. Read, enjoy, share, and take to heart the following information brought to you by the most prestigious thought leaders in EMS.

About the Author: Rob Lawrence is the principal of Robert Lawrence Consulting. He previously served as the chief operating officer of Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California. Before that, Rob was the COO of the Richmond Ambulance Authority. Rob is a former board member of the American Ambulance Association and currently serves as chair of its Communications Committee and a member of the media rapid response task force.

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Examining how the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest, and reimbursement are impacting prehospital medicine, and how leaders can care for the workforce

This data for this year’s EMS Trend Report was collected in 2019 B.C. – before COVID-19. At the time, we didn’t know what was just round the corner. This year’s report provides a real indicator of the circumstances and challenges we have already seen in the COVID-19 era. As EMS staff were the first warriors into the battle and onto the front line, mental health, post-traumatic stress injury and burnout have elevated to the top of the chart.

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

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At the beginning of each year, many people make resolutions to either accomplish a personal goal or improve their life in one way or another. These resolutions, both large and small, include goals like eating healthier, exercising regularly, and learning a new skill.

Staying focused on a resolution year-round is difficult even under the most normal circumstances. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended first responders’ lives as they continue to serve and take care of patients.

It’s easy to place your own needs on the back burner while taking care of others who are suffering and need help. However, it is important to recognize that your health – both physically and mentally – is more important than ever right now.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Megan Wittmann for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. This is Part 5 of our blog series Building Effective Teams. Click here to check out parts 1-4.

COVID-19 has made a huge impact on daily life, both at home and at work. In the midst of a crisis like this, it’s more important than ever to work on building strong working relationships with your team. As we jump into discussing the last few elements of building an effective team, I want to tell a story about an emergency department nurse named Jen.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Last month, EMS1, Fitch & Associates, and the National EMS Management Association released their third annual EMS Trend Report, proudly sponsored by Pulsara. Because the articles and advice found within contain such critical subject matter, we've elected to publish each segment one at a time here on our blog. Read, enjoy, share, and take to heart the following information brought to you by the most prestigious thought leaders in EMS.

About the authors: Jay Fitch, PhD, is a founding partner of Fitch & Associates and is internationally recognized for leadership as a consultant, educator and innovator in EMS and public safety.

Anthony Minge, EdD, is a senior partner at Fitch & Associates. Prior to joining the firm, he was the business manager for Northwest MedStar in Spokane, Washington.

TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, PROVIDER RESILIENCY AND PREPAREDNESS: INTERPRETING THE EMS TREND REPORT 2020

EMS leaders anticipated a linear progression in 2020 – managing a slight increase in call volume and reimbursement, while trying to become more efficient and otherwise hold down costs. COVID-19 certainly changed the definition of normal, and perhaps how EMS will evolve in the future.

The EMS Trend Report asks a number of questions each year to ascertain industry perception of a wide variety of key issues and related trends, from measures used to track cardiac arrests, to clinical interventions, ePCR satisfaction, use of lights and sirens for 911 responses, budget changes, and the degree to which agencies are prepared for disruptive events.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Wes Gilbert for writing today's blog post. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all groups of humanity. No matter where you live, what you do, or what your situation is, everyone has been impacted by the pandemic. For many people, COVID-19 has meant some pretty significant lifestyle changes. 

So far, we have done a good job of thinking and talking about how the pandemic has impacted healthcare workers, public safety workers, and working professionals. There is one group, however, that I haven’t seen much attention devoted to: our kids. 

New York Hospital Improves Communication and Door-to-Needle Times with Pulsara

Just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, care teams at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, New York realized that they needed a better way to communicate. According to an article published recently in a local Lewiston news source, Mount St. Mary’s chose to adopt Pulsara in order to open better lines of communication between EMS and emergency department staff.

Pulsara is a mobile-first telehealth and communication platform that connects teams across organizations. Through the use of mobile technology, Pulsara allows every member of the care team —from medics to nurses to physicians — to communicate on one dedicated channel for each patient. And for stroke patients at Mount St. Mary’s Regional Stroke Center, more efficient care team communication can have a major impact.

Telehealth Communication Platform Honored for Improving Healthcare Delivery

BOZEMAN, Mont., Aug. 12, 2020 — Pulsara, the leading telehealth and communication platform that connects teams across organizations, announced today that the company has received a 2020 Telehealth Award from HealthTechZone.com, a leading healthcare technology news source. The award recognizes companies innovating and improving health delivery and management towards exceptional customer experiences. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Kate Leatherby for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. 

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Early on in my career, I remember hearing the old military adage: “Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.” Those 5 P’s made a deep impression on me and have had a dramatic impact on how I’ve approached and shaped my career.

Emergency preparedness is a vital part of emergency response. As paramedics, we constantly enter situations where we can’t always anticipate what’s going to happen. And there’s always the chance that tomorrow, we could walk into a major emergency we’ve never had to face before. Having a plan in place for the worst-case scenario can make a huge difference in the case that you have to use it.

BOZEMAN, Mont., July 31, 2020 — Pulsara, the leading telehealth and communication platform that connects teams across organizations, announced today that the company has been named a compatible vendor within the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines® program. This premier AHA program assists hospitals in measuring and improving cardiovascular disease and stroke care through research-based methods, encouraging the latest scientific treatment guidelines and best practices. Officially, Pulsara is an American Heart Association/American Stroke Association compatible vendor for Get With The Guidelines® inpatient suite of programs, with program emphasis in coronary artery disease, resuscitation, and stroke.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Bet Martin for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Learning to be our best

PULSARA'S HASHTAG:

#ItsAboutPeople

PULSARA'S MISSION:

We unite and empower people to improve health by simplifying care coordination.

Said another way...

The Pulsara Team places control back into the hands of clinicians and patients to create better outcomes.

Healthcare is complex. We make it simpler.

PULSARA VALUES

But more than that, we care about people. Our value of Servant Leadership means that we love people. We passionately serve people and the people who serve people. Our success is measured by the success of those we serve.

To begin to understand the rates at which minorities are disproportionately disadvantaged in the healthcare system, we as caregivers need to examine our implicit ethnic bias. Implicit social cognition, AKA implicit bias, is taking stereotypes (cultural conditioning) and applying them to our everyday thoughts, actions, activities, and practices.

Time and accuracy in acute care are paramount at every stage of the care process, starting with dispatch and carrying through to the hospital. Time is tissue, and communication errors can lead to avoidable injury or even death. Care teams can’t afford to not get it right. Patients and their families are counting on them.

According to The Joint Commission, 80 percent of medical errors result from miscommunications between caregivers during transitions of care. Fueled by data like this, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has acknowledged that there is a communication crisis in healthcare: “Problems with communication between clinicians are pervasive and clearly result in preventable patient harm,” they state in their article on communication between clinicians. “Seminal studies have shown that poor levels of communication exist between clinicians at all levels of the health care system. The Joint Commission has found that communication issues are the most common root cause of sentinel events (serious and preventable patient harm incidents).” 

Miscommunication and treatment errors stem from a lack of a single effective communication method. Pagers, fax machines, and radios still dominate healthcare communication, and these technologies don’t allow care teams to communicate with one another as quickly or efficiently as they could. In order to establish effective team communication, then, it’s time to consider how mobile technology can help. 

It is obvious to those in our industry that healthcare is preparing for a seismic shift in the way we deliver, access, and treat our patients. Unfortunately, it took a global viral emergency for that to happen. 

Periods of great stress can be a catalyst for periods of fantastic innovation. Just like a lump of coal, the tremendous pressure that healthcare has faced during COVID-19 will transform our delivery model into a diamond. Traditional pipeline methods of care delivery, communication, and treatment will undergo rapid changes and iterations of process improvement. With this incoming wave of change, it’s time to let our hair down a bit. I urge all clinicians not to limit yourself on what you think can and cannot be done. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Courtney Chumley, FACPE, for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. 

At Pulsara, we're committed to helping your organization recover from the initial COVID-19 wave, and prepare for current and future cases. One such way we're striving to equip care teams is by publishing thought leadership and real life examples of how other health systems have successfully managed COVID-19 and its widespread effects.

When COVID-19 hit the U.S., Pulsara client Cy-Fair Fire Department was prepared. They immediately put protocols in place to help mitigate the spread, which they are continuing to use and refine, and even put together a few informational videos to help other EMS agencies. Read on to learn how Cy-Fair was able to prepare for the first wave, and what they are currently doing to manage and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by leveraging innovative technologies and systems.

On January 23^rd, while the world was watching the evolution of the COVID-19 crisis overseas, the command staff at the Cy-Fair Fire Department met to plan their response. Headed up by Assistant Chief Justin Reed and Communications Chief Angela Burrer, the group began to discuss the threat they knew they were about to face. 

With a service area covering 156 square miles and a population of approximately 475,000 people, the Cy-Fair team knew the potential impacts for the area were enormous. Clear communication was going to be important, they decided, so after that initial meeting, they chose to schedule daily morning video/phone briefings for all on-duty personnel and recorded them for those that were on a response. 

As the virus slowly advanced towards the United States, Cy-Fair staff recognized the logistical concerns of providing appropriate clinical care, recognizing patients early, being mindful of overtriage, and managing personal protective equipment and force protection. They made it a priority to plan accordingly.