The EMS Take by Brent Williams
FirstNet unites federal, state, and local responders on scene
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The EMS community has faced a period of unpredictability—with a ramp up of patients needing high-level care during a novel virus outbreak, followed by a drop off in EMS calls during periods of lockdown. Our nation’s EMS responders rose to the challenge, earning new respect for our noble profession.
One of the best examples of rising to the COVID-19 challenge was the multi-agency response coordinated by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. FirstNet helped these responders communicate on a single, interoperable network to provide a coordinated response for a national health emergency.
FirstNet’s interoperability is a game changer at Javits Center
When spiking COVID-19 infections in New York City caused a critical shortage of hospital beds and staff, a team of federal, state, local, and private partners transformed the Javits Convention Center into a field hospital serviced by the city’s EMS. HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) was a key player in coordinating the hospital’s setup and operation. They chose FirstNet to power the communications.
Logistical challenges come with creating a 2,500-bed hospital in a one million square-foot convention space—and communication was one of those challenges. Connecting everyone deployed to the site from different federal, state, and local agencies was critical to the success of the operation. The team at the Javits Center discovered obstacles, including that the land-mobile radio infrastructure needed upgrading.
Many agencies servicing the Javits Center were FirstNet subscribers, so they collaborated on how to best use FirstNet to support the mission. From an operational perspective, they said it was a huge learning process. Through this collaboration, they discovered FirstNet’s enhanced push-to-talk feature allowed them to set up talk groups and communicate across agencies. After testing this feature, they decided to use FirstNet enhanced push-to-talk as a primary communications tool.
Another important consideration for operating in this massive, four-level, glass and steel construction was in-building coverage. After AT&T installed nodes to boost the wireless signal throughout the building, excellent coverage reached from the top of the elevator shaft to the depths of the basement.
Devices designed for public safety use
In addition to a single, reliable broadband connection, FirstNet offers devices designed for public safety’s unique needs. Many FirstNet-enabled smartphones are ruggedized, which offers public safety features above and beyond commercial devices. Ruggedized devices have extended battery life, glove-friendly display, impact resistance, waterproofness, and chemical resistance.
These features, especially waterproofness and chemical resistance, proved useful to the team at the Javits Center who used FirstNet-enabled smartphones. At the end of each shift, the devices were dunked in cleaning solution to disinfect any virus exposure. That made the smartphones immediately available for the next shift to use. This was a welcome benefit during a time when it was critical to share devices for efficiency.
The team also appreciated that a single device served multiple public safety purposes and that it supported handsfree communications so responders could continue working. These features were a bonus for the busy teams triaging a public health emergency.
Your experience
Would your agency benefit from interoperability? What public safety features do you need in a device? Send me an email to let me know about your EMS communication needs.
I am participating in the Wisconsin EMS Association (WEMSA) Virtual Conference & Expo on November 9-14. I hope you'll check it out.
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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.*
Telemedicine has been used extensively during the COVID-19 response, helping the medical community to accept it for broader EMS use. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies recently announced January 2021 as the start date for the innovative Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) program. For the first time, the ET3 program allows reimbursement for ambulances that transport to places of care other than hospitals or that offer treatment in place via telemedicine with no transport. Mobile broadband communications will play a big part in connecting EMS providers participating in ET3.
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Alachua County Fire and Rescue benefits from FirstNet capabilities in their everyday EMS operations. FirstNet connects their mobile data computers to gather information while en route to calls. They use FirstNet-enabled smartphones to get priority service in an emergency. The EMS team also uses FirstNet to send health data directly from the ambulance to the hospital.
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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: A first responder in military uniform and a first responder in hospital scrubs at the Javits Center field hospital.
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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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