Author - TM_RFG

November 29, 2017Read more...

Pinnacle 2017 Session: How EMS Can Fight the Opioid Overdose Crisis

What a great session at the Pinnacle 2017 conference. For those of you that were unable to attend, you can find the information regarding the conference below, as well as resources shared during the presentation. Presenters: Todd Stout, FirstWatch, Rob Lawrence, Richmond Ambulance Authority, Jon Kelly, Trinity EMS, Jamie Pianka, ProEMS and Dave Lewis, St. Charles County Ambulance District Session Description: Opioid overdoses are now clearly one of the biggest public health threats facing this country, leading to more than 33,000 deaths in 2015...

December 10, 2014Read more...

CDC Warning on Influenza

Download PDF  The CDC sent out a health advisory on December 3, 2014 regarding the potential for a poor match between the circulating influenza strain and the vaccine. The CDC states that flu activity is low right now, but expects it to begin increasing as the winter wears on. Influenza A (H3N2) is the predominant strain seen so far this flu season. To learn what this means for EMS, download the PDF.

July 31, 2013Read more...

Iowa, Nebraska link Cyclospora cases to bagged salad mix

UPDATE: Health departments in Iowa and Nebraska today announced that the source of Cyclospora infections in the two states is prepackaged salad mix, but federal health officials said they are working to determine if the findings apply to cases in other states and are looking into other possibilities.

July 29, 2013Read more...

Updates on MERS and Cylospora

Mers and Cylospora Update: As of July 26, 2013, CDC has been notified of 353 cases of Cyclospora infection from the following 15 health departments: Iowa , Texas , Nebraska , Florida, Wisconsin , Illinois, New York City, Georgia, Missouri, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Ohio

June 21, 2013Read more...

CDC Health Alert Network Advisory: Recommendations for Laboratory Testing for Acetyl Fentanyl and Patient Evaluation

Download PDF The CDC released a Public Health Advisory yesterday regarding an increase in overdose deaths related to a synthetic opiate Acetyl Fentanyl over a three month period in Rhode Island. Acetyl Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate that is not sold in the United States and is a very powerful narcotic, up to five times more potent than heroin. The CDC states that other states may have seen overdoses attributed to “Fentanyl laced heroin” and urge vigilance in looking for...

May 23, 2013Read more...

How Technology Keeps New Orleans Alert In Real Time

Download PDF (JEMS, May MCI Issue, 2013) To monitor health-related threats, New Orleans turned to the FirstWatch Realtime Situational Awareness System, which is used by systems throughout the world. The sophisticated system tracks information entered into computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems in real-time, and immediately sends an alert via email or text message to designated public health and safety officials if it detects certain symptoms or trends of concern.  

January 13, 2013Read more...

Public Safety teams in New Orleans use FirstWatch system for Super Bowl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSqdFqs2WYI Public Safety, Homeland Security and Public Health teams in New Orleans use FirstWatch every day for real-time situational awareness & data surveillance. FirstWatch is especially helpful during high-profile special events like the 2013 Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, Sugar Bowl or NCAA Final Four. FirstWatch analyzes 9-1-1 emergency call data (in real-time) to provide Public Safety & other authorized stakeholder groups with secure web based data views, tools & automated alerts related to trends, patterns or geographic clusters of potentially concerning...

September 20, 2012Read more...

KSTP Channel 5 “Data Watchdog”

Local Minneapolis station KSTP Channel 5 featured FirstWatch in the news segment “Data Watchdog” Now Tracking Minneapolis 911 Calls City of Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center (MECC) & Hennepin EMS interview on ABC (KSTP) about deploying and using FirstWatch real-time Dashboards and data analytics and automated alerting for the 911 Communications Center, as well as EMS, Police and Fire teams. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jmtf0KTf8E