EMS Manager, online employee scheduling and workforce management system, increases availability for this medical transport company.
Rapid City, SD - Before implementing EMS Manager to schedule pilots, medics/nurses, ground crew and flight coordinators, Medical Air Rescue Company (MARC) at times had to turn down a flight request because they couldn’t assemble an additional crew fast enough. Previously they scheduled flight teams using an online calendar, but is was very limiting, so finding an additional team when their scheduled crews were already on other flights, involved numerous calls, texts and/or emails and caused delays.
“Recently, I had two teams in the air when a third request came in. I simply sent out a request through our EMS Manager system and had a team ready to go in just minutes,” explains Micky Neilan, RN and EMS Director, Medical Air Rescue Company, Rapid City, South Dakota. “If we would have been using our old method of scheduling we couldn’t have accepted the transport request in a timely manner.” 
Neilan indicates he experimented with other scheduling software but nothing came close to what EMS Manager could accomplish for his company. He states his “top five” benefits of EMS Manager are:
1. Accessibility - Our staff of nearly 50 can manage their own trades and availability requests without having to physically be at one of our bases, because they can access the system from any computer or device with Internet capabilities.
2. Accountability - We can track every change to the schedule to determine who made it and when they made it.
3. Flexibility - I can easily change the settings and customize the program to fit our needs.
4. Trackability - The way EMS Manager allows us to track certifications is simply awesome.
5. Customer Service - If I can’t figure something out, help is just a phone call or an email away.
“I can check and edit the schedule from literally anywhere on any computer - or even my smartphone. Our staff likes the ability to view their schedule remotely. They also really like receiving notifications for open shifts and trade availability,” shares Neilan. “I use the mobile web app daily. It really helps me stay connected and see which employees are available. EMS Manager also lets me look at who has read a message and when it was read. This is vital for notification of meeting and policy changes.”
Each division at MARC (pilots, medics/nurses, ground crew, flight coordinators) have different scheduled hours and start times.. Some employees are on a set rotation while some have variable schedules. The pilots are on 12 hour blocks while flight coordinators do either 8, 12 or 16 hour shifts. With EMS Manager, the schedule is now easily customized for each division and each shift.
“We have a very unique situation with aircraft, ground ambulances, and a communications center. Trying to stick our organization into a cookie cutter scheduling software would never work. EMS Manager is unbelievably customizable, it’s allowed us to be more efficient and the system has allowed us to increase the number of flight requests we can accept,” Neilan concludes.
Founded in 1982, Medical Air Rescue Company’s original base is located in Rapid City, SD, however they recently opened a second base in Valentine, NE. They primarily cover a 300 mile radius of each of the two bases, although they have provided flights to nearly every state in the United States.
About Aladtec, Inc.
Aladtec, Inc. is a proud provider of web-based software solutions for online employee scheduling and workforce management applications. The company’s flagship products, EMS Manager and FIRE Manager, are leaders in the public safety sector. Together with their newest product, Zanager, they serve over 900 EMS agencies, fire departments, police departments and other businesses. Over 57,000 employees use Aladtec’s online employee scheduling and workforce management products. Aladtec is headquartered just outside the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area in Hudson, Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.aladtec.com.