State-wide trauma network will enable optimum trauma patient/hospital matching in emergencies
Vancouver, BC – In Motion Technology, the leader in mobile networking technologies that efficiently connect and manage equipment, information and people in the field, announced today that it has been awarded a state-wide contract for an Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVLS) for the trauma care network for Georgia. Phase 1 implementation is now complete, and it is expected that Phase 2 initial deployment will be completed by September 30, 2011.
The Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission (GTCNC), the Georgia Emergency Management Agency / Homeland Security (GEMA/HS), and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are developing a state-wide AVLS to provide a display of ambulance positions and to advise EMS agencies and hospitals of the closest appropriate facility to transport or transfer patients, specifically in a state of emergency or a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI). The challenge is to integrate over 200 existing EMS agencies each with their own independent communications technology. One of the goals of the program is to implement AVLS to all primary 911 Zone Providers, in order to provide the citizens of Georgia with a powerful trauma and mass casualty incident management system including an advanced telemedicine technology infrastructure.
During the initial pilot phase of this contract, the GTCNC purchased 200 Mobile Gateways for Georgia EMS Regions 5 and 6. The Gateways had to integrate with the GEMA/HS Geographic Tool for Visualization & Collaboration (GTVC), a geographic information system used for managing resources during responses to emergencies and homeland security incidents developed by GTRI.
”With our partners, GTRI and In Motion Technology, we will be able to provide the Georgia state-wide AVLS to better coordinate response actions in crisis situations”, said Dennis W. Ashley, MD, FACS, FCCM, chair, Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission (GTCNC). “The network communications platform is an essential component of Georgia’s trauma system regionalization and will produce the highest possible value for Georgians’ investment in trauma care.”
In Motion Technology’s onBoard™ Mobile Gateway turns ambulances into wireless hotspots, providing seamless, secure connectivity to laptops, EKG/ECGs, RFID tags, vehicle diagnostic systems and advanced GPS/AVL systems. The onBoard™ Mobility Manager provides each EMS agency and command center with the ability to analyze information from Gateways in the field via a dashboard which shows ambulance locations, and monitors vehicle diagnostics, devices and networks.
“We needed a communications platform that would complement the existing communications and dispatch networks at over 200 agencies across the state,” said Kirk Pennywitt, senior research engineer at GTRI. “The challenge was effectively connecting multiple agencies with a single platform that could also accommodate future technologies and applications.”
Now in the second phase of this program, GEMA/HS has secured federal grant funds for an additional 200-400 Gateways. In Motion Technology’s solution enables improved resource deployment, vehicle management, dispatch, messaging and operations for each EMS agency and provides GTCNC & GEMA/HS designated Command Centers with a clearer picture of EMS operations for emergency response.
In the future, the telecommunications platform provided under the AVLS program offers the potential to extend the capabilities of the hospital’s emergency care center to the injury scene to improve triage, stabilization and transfer/transport of trauma patients. Emergency cardiac and stroke cases can be more efficiently addressed with early analysis of ECGs, video and patient care records by cardiologists and catheterization labs. The third phase of this program will begin in late 2011 or early 2012 with the goal of having more than 90% of eligible ambulances in the state of Georgia as part of the AVLS program.
“In Motion Technology is excited to be a part of this visionary state-wide initiative for the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission and Georgia Tech Research Institute,” said Tony Morris, In Motion Technology’s vice president of sales and marketing. “We are pleased that In Motion Technology has been able to provide a unified communications platform solution for the trauma commission that will improve overall trauma care for the citizens of Georgia.”
About In Motion Technology Inc.
In Motion Technology is the leader in mobile networking technologies that connect and manage equipment, information and people in the field. In Motion’s patented Mobile Wireless Hot Spot System (US Patent #7,382,771) turns each vehicle into a secure, mobile communications hotspot that enables people on the road to stay in constant contact, as onboard communications roam seamlessly across wireless networks. It provides organizations with real-time information to manage operations to peak efficiency, and frees individuals to be effective anywhere, anytime. Today, In Motion’s solutions are used by more than 330 municipal, healthcare, public safety, transportation and utility organizations worldwide. For more information, please call Stephanie Hughes-White at 604.523.2371 ext.541 or visit In Motion Technology at www.inmotiontechnology.com or www.twitter.com/inmotion_tech and www.facebook.com/inmotiontechnology.