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The EMS Take: Winter 2019
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 The EMS Take by Brent Williams
The right care at the right time at the right place
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The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) is looking to 2020 with renewed dedication to our partnership with public safety to transform emergency communications. This year, we are executing on the priorities in the FirstNet Authority Roadmap in a targeted, strategic way. Public safety continues to be our most valuable source of information. We want to understand your challenges and experiences with the network. That’s why we’re focusing on our stakeholder relationships, your operational needs, and tangible solutions.
New applications of telehealth
When I talk to the EMS community, we often discuss telehealth. The FirstNet Authority’s Public Safety Advisory Committee formed a strike team to examine new applications of telehealth. FirstNet has unique capabilities to support telemedicine because of the speed, reliability, and security of the network.
To better understand telehealth in rural areas, the FirstNet Authority is collaborating with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, a telehealth center of excellence. Through this collaboration we are creating demonstrations of rural first responders using broadband to include in the FirstNet Authority’s new experience program, which introduces public safety to current and future technologies through hands-on experiences.
EMS uses FirstNet to meet local needs
I recently spoke to Kent Vosburg, EMS Chief at Junction City Fire Department which services rural Geary County in Kansas. As FirstNet subscribers, they’ve upped their technology capabilities to streamline operations and improve patient care. For example, their paramedics use tablets to capture patient signatures and import patient data directly from monitors to electronic reports. Soon they’ll be implementing a tracking system for ambulance inventory.
Chief Vosburg and his team use technology to improve care in their rural community. Their local hospital isn’t equipped to treat heart attacks or traumatic injury so they drive at least 45 miles to service those patients. When transporting a patient, they rely on FirstNet to transmit data from in-ambulance monitors to the hospital and to consult with doctors prior to arrival. One of the hospitals doesn’t have the staff to monitor a computer, so they’ve found a workaround—the data is sent to a fax machine in the emergency room and the nursing supervisor immediately sees the report.
Junction City is leading the way in adapting telemedicine to fit their rural community. “We use our tablets as hotspots for FirstNet to send data straight to the hospitals so they can get real-time information about the patient,” said Chief Vosburg.
Chief Vosburg also recognizes the nationwide reach of FirstNet. “FirstNet really made a difference when we were part of a task force responding to Hurricane Dorian in Florida.” Using FirstNet, Chief Vosburg stayed in communication with his team and tracked their precise location, all from a thousand miles away.
Your experience with telehealth
My colleagues and I at the FirstNet Authority are focused on helping first responders leverage innovative technologies. I want to hear how your agency is using technology and telemedicine. Email me or find me at one of these events.
- Central Virginia EMS Expo in Henrico, VA, on March 7-8
- EMS Today JEMS Conference and Expo in Tampa, FL, on March 5-7
- Society of Emergency Medicine Physicians Assistants 360 Conference in Chicago, IL, on March 16-20
- West Region EMS Conference, Ocean Shores, WA, on March 27-29
- National Rural EMS & Care Conference in Columbus, OH, on April 22-23
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 Hitting one million FirstNet connections for more than 10,000 public safety agencies was a major milestone for FirstNet in 2019. Stay tuned for the exciting progress planned for 2020!
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 With over 75% of the network built, FirstNet coverage and capacity continues to expand with new cell sites in Yamhill, OR, and Clinton, PA.
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 FirstNet gives public safety its own fast lane during network congestion at events like the NFL’s Super Bowl, college football’s Iron Bowl, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame events.
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 More than a broadband network, FirstNet is driving a new marketplace for public safety technology—with over 100 FirstNet Ready™ devices and 100 apps created for first responders.
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Tech, Innovations, and Hot Topics in EMS
Read what we’ve been hearing from public safety in the field about trends and drivers for EMS and emergency communications.*
A doctor using a computer at University Hospitals Birmingham in the U.K. demonstrated diagnosing a patient in an ambulance several miles away. While this was just a demonstration, the ambulance of the future might be equipped with 180-degree video, virtual reality headsets, and remote-controlled ultrasound gloves. These smart ambulances will rely on reliable, fast, secure broadband to connect paramedics and doctors.
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The FirstNet Authority supports the Tech to Protect Challenge, hosted by National Institute of Standards and Technology Public Safety Communications Research Division. Tech to Protect is a nationwide coding contest to find solutions for public safety communications. The Miami location for the Tech to Protect Challenge was one of ten in-person coding contests inviting participants to create technology solutions that will aid emergency responders in serving and protecting communities across the country.
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Brent Williams is a Senior Public Safety Advisor and the First Responder Network Authority EMS Subject Matter Expert. Learn more about Brent or email him with your questions. |
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Top photo: Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue is one of many FirstNet subscribers using mobile devices like tablets on the network.
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*FirstNet Authority may provide hyperlinks for third-party, non-governmental websites in order to offer additional context and added value for our users. FirstNet Authority does not endorse any product or service and is not responsible, nor can it guarantee the validity or timeliness of the content on hyperlinks outside of the federal government. In addition,users may wish to review privacy notices on non-government sites since their information collection practices may differ from ours.
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