FirstWatch is proud to help agencies detect opioid overdoses and share that information with local stakeholders that can intervene in real-time. Learn more in this article featured in the March/April Issue of The Journal. Read the Article.
Read the latest post in the new Paramedic Chief column via EMS1, "Better EMS Performance" led by our own Improvement Guide, Mike Taigman. In this new column, Mike and our FirstWatch team along with our customers and colleagues will share actionable strategies, concepts and ideas to make real improvements. This column draws from Learning Organizations, Systems Thinking, Six Sigma, Lean Thinking, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and others you will not need to have a black belt to put these ideas...
Fond du Lac Fire Rescue, WI is using FirstWatch to see how quickly personnel and equipment are getting to calls. With goals being set and tracked, they’re expected to be met. Since launching the program, the Fond du Lac Fire Department has been able to meet between 90 and 100% of its goals. Watch the TV News Clip.
Read the latest post in the new Paramedic Chief column via EMS1, "Better EMS Performance" led by our own Improvement Guide, Mike Taigman. In this new column, Mike and our FirstWatch team along with our customers and colleagues will share actionable strategies, concepts and ideas to make real improvements. This column draws from Learning Organizations, Systems Thinking, Six Sigma, Lean Thinking, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and others you will not need to have a black belt to put these ideas...
Read the latest post in the new Paramedic Chief column via EMS1, "Better EMS Performance" led by our own Improvement Guide, Mike Taigman. In this new column, Mike and our FirstWatch team along with our customers and colleagues will share actionable strategies, concepts and ideas to make real improvements. This column draws from Learning Organizations, Systems Thinking, Six Sigma, Lean Thinking, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and others you will not need to have a black belt to put these ideas...
The CDC is investigating a surge in cases of Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM). AFM is a syndrome of weakened muscles that may sometimes lead to paralysis, including limb and respiratory muscles. The majority of cases are in children and adolescents. What EMS should know: If a patient, particularly a child/adolescent presents with weak or paralyzed limbs, they should be transported to the hospital for further evaluation. Careful attention should be paid to washing hands, decontaminating objects & surfaces. Wearing appropriate PPE will also...
Former FirstWatch Medical Director Dr. Alex Garza and Boston EMS, Fire and Police Medical Director Dr. Sophia Dyer, joined forces in this month's issue of JEMS to share the opportunity EMS has to help in the efforts to slow down the Opioid epidemic and perhaps prevent overdoses before they occur. Read the Article.
We're so excited to partner with The Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) to bring you their first webinar introducing their rebranding (formerly the Coalition of Advanced Emergency Medical Systems (CAEMS)), that highlights high performance EMS systems’ focus to highlight the rapidly transforming role of EMS agencies across the United States and Canada. This first of its kind webinar will introduce the participants to AIMHI and its mission, and explain the concepts of High Performance EMS (HPEMS). In this...
We're so excited to announce the new Paramedic Chief column via EMS1, "Better EMS Performance" led by our own Improvement Guide, Mike Taigman. In this new column, Mike and our FirstWatch team along with our customers and colleagues will share actionable strategies, concepts and ideas to make real improvements. We will draw from Learning Organizations, Systems Thinking, Six Sigma, Lean Thinking, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and others you will not need to have a black belt to put these ideas...
FirstWatch is featured in a great article by Data-Smart City Solutions, an initiative by the Ash Center at Harvard Kennedy School, about the need for local authorities and decision makers to have real-time alert systems, rapid response surveillance, and mobile data collection and geolocation to improve the disease surveillance necessary to curb the spread of major viruses. Read the Article.
1. A new area with local transmission by mosquitos has been identified in Miami, Florida for a portion of South Beach. 2. A non-travel case of Zika has been identified in Pinellas County, Florida and was announced Tuesday. 3. A scientific research study was released using mice models that indicates that the Zika virus is able to cause brain damage in mice adult neural stem cells. For a more complete Zika update, Click Here.
FirstWatch likes to provide surveillance and early warning for many different threats to our clients – that was, in fact, the initial reason for starting the company. So, it makes sense that the question would be asked by us, and perhaps by you, if Zika should be monitored through the data we capture for you. We have seriously contemplated it and will outline our rationale to not recommend doing so at this time. However, we would very much like to...
There are currently three scenarios in which the Zika virus is spreading: areas where local mosquito transmission is occurring, areas that have the potential for having local mosquito transmission (have Aedes mosquitos & have or have had Zika infected people), and those areas where Zika transmission is very unlikely although travel-related infections may occur. The only states that do not have travel-related cases are Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, and South Dakota. First responders should continue to avoid mosquito breeding around the worksite,...
Clark County Fire Department leaders wanted to go beyond measuring response times and look more closely at patient care performance. But using their current software, reviewing performance was labor intensive and time consuming – they could look back at individual charts, or create spreadsheets about a particular indicator, but they couldn’t look at multiple aspects of all calls systematically. Clark County decided to use FirstPass, the tool that continually mines data in CADs and ePCRs, alerting managers to deviations in...
FirstWatch customer Fire Chief Otto Drozd of Orange County Fire Rescue, FL and his team harness the power of data to make important measures available in real time, without significantly adding to their workload, to reach the highest level of performance possible. Read the Article.
FirstWatch customer Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) in Reno, NV is using our tools to track and trend a possible spike in Heroin overdoses following a local drug bust. Watch video
TriTech and FirstWatch have worked closely together for more than a decade since their first integration in 2001. With over 60 shared customers across the U.S. & Canada, this webinar is aimed at maximizing the benefits of using both solutions together. In this webinar you will discover how to get the most from your TriTech CAD data and how it can be integrated with other data sources to create powerful, actionable information... in near real-time on any device including your phone...
Download the below information in PDF form Influenza 2015-2016 On Feb 1, 2016, the CDC published a notice that the Influenza (Flu) season had begun and that severe cases of flu had been reported. This time frame represents a more typical flu season than the past three years which have had an early onset and peak. This season (2015-16) showed a slow rise of cases through December and a much higher case rate beginning in Jan., with elevated numbers of cases still...
Download the below information in PDF form Current Assessment The largest outbreak of the Zika virus continues with active circulation (local transmission) in many countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, in some of the Islands in Oceania/Pacific Islands and in Cape Verde, Africa. Over a hundred imported cases, by way of returning travelers, have been identified in the United States, Canada, and countries throughout the world. One case in Texas was contracted in the US (not imported) via sexual...
Download the below information in PDF form Update Since my last writing on Zika, there have been new developments. Multiple cases of Zika have been diagnosed in the United States, all of which were imported into the country with the exception of one. This single case was transmitted to an individual by sexual contact in Dallas, TX. During the investigation, it was found that the Zika virus can live in semen and transmitted to sexual partners through intercourse. This is the second case...
