FirstWatch User Group at Pinnacle
Register now to attend the 5th annual FirstWatch EMS User Group at the Pinnacle EMS Leadership Forum July 22nd in Scottsdale, Arizona. Visit Conference Website
Second confirmed case of MERS-CoV in the United States
Download PDF Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a second case of MERS-CoV. The second case was identified in Orange County Florida in a healthcare worker who was visiting the U. S. from Saudi Arabia. Dr. Alex Garza, former FirstWatch Medical Director and Health Intelligence page contributor, was featured this morning on the St. Louis TV news station KTVI to discuss the current threat of Mers-CoV.
MERS-CoV case is now in United Kingdom
Two British passengers who flew into Heathrow next to a man who has been diagnosed with Mers-Cov are being tracked down by Public Health England. Read full story
First MERS-CoV case in United States
Download PDF The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting the first case of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome caused by the Corona Virus, otherwise known as MERS-CoV. The CDC states that a man has tested positive in Indiana after a recent trip to Saudia Arabia. The man arrived in the United States approximately one week ago after a layover in London. He eventually landed in Chicago and then took a bus to Indiana. He was apparently...
Louisville Metro EMS gets first MERS-CoV triggers
Download PDF FirstWatch has recently developed our first MERS-CoV near-real-time triggers. Earlier this week, Dr. Neal Richmond, Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director for Louisville Metro EMS in Kentucky asked us to help develop MERS triggers as part of their preparation for the Kentucky Derby (May 2 – 4, 2014). The Kentucky Derby is an international event with attendees from all over the world, including from countries with MERS cases.
SNOPAC 911 Communications Center on Watch
To ensure that police, fire and emergency medical services in Snohomish County have their fingers on the pulse of the community, the SNOPAC 9-1-1 has deployed FirstWatch to monitor in real-time the roughly 1,500 calls they dispatch each day (more than 600,000 calls in 2013).
Flu Activity Continues to Increase
Download PDF Flu Activity Continues to Increase: Twenty-five states are now reporting widespread levels of activity, up from 10 the previous week and further increases are expected. Despite the increase in ILI, the proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza decreased this week, and remains below the epidemic threshold. Our Canadian RIN (Regional Influenza Network) members seem to be having a slightly higher rate of alerts than most US RIN members, but still not higher than a...
A Real-Time Look at the System: How Dashboards Keep Leaders in the Moment
Download PDF(EMS World, October Issue, 2013) FirstWatch president Todd Stout talks FirstWatch dashboards that monitor key performance indicators in real time as part of the “Perspectives from Pinnacle” feature in the October issue.
What is Data Good For?
Download PDF (EMS World, August Issue, 2013) Alexander Garza, MD, MPH, former FirstWatch medical director and homeland security advisor and Nick Nudell, systems integration manager, discuss the necessity of collecting and evaluating data in real time to improve the quality of patient care. They provide examples of how different agencies around the country are putting their data to use.
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.
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
Debbie Gilligan Moves into New Product Strategist Role
As our new resident product strategist, Debbie Gilligan’s responsibilities include building long-term one-on-one relationships, identifying customer pain points, and serving as the product development “compass” for FirstWatch when it comes to effectively communicating the changing needs of our customers. For Debbie, it is the collaborative relationships with her customers and her grasp of the marketplace and user needs that drive her success. “It is my job to make sure we join forces with our customers to identify areas of growth...
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...
MERS-CoV a significant potential for a public health emergency
Download PDF The Obama administration has declared MERS-CoV a significant potential for a public health emergency that may lead to affects on national security or the health and security of US citizens living abroad.
UPDATE: H7N9 and MERS-CoV
Download PDF The Beijing Center for disease control announced yesterday they had found an additional case of H7N9 in a six-year-old boy. Saudi Arabia announced that they had identified five more cases of MERS-CoV yesterday while Agence France Presse (AFP) reported the death of a 65-year-old man infected with the MERS-CoV. Recommendations for EMS do not change.
Respiratory Illness Outbreak in Alabama
Alabama public health officials are standing down, as they have determined that the cluster of respiratory illness was normally occurring and there is no longer a need for enhanced surveillance. For more information, please see their Press Release
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.
Respiratory Illness Outbreak in Alabama
Download PDF Alabama public health officials are investigating a cluster of severe respiratory infections with an unknown cause around the Dothan area. Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) said in a press release yesterday that seven people were hospitalized with similar symptoms of cough, fever and shortness of breath. There has been no evidence that the cases traveled to either China or the Middle East where H7N9 influenza virus or the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are...
Novel Viruses H7N9 and Novel Coronavirus
Download PDF There are no cases of either in the U.S. or even North America. Both viruses have high case fatality rates; currently 25% for H7N9 and 55% for nCoV.There are currently too many unknowns surrounding these viruses, so keeping a careful watch for updates is prudent. It is also be a good time for agencies and individuals to assure that their Pandemic Flu Plans are updated and ready for use should the need ever arise.
Read the Latest, Novel Viruses H7N9 and MERS-CoV
Download PDF The GlobalTimes reported today that China has downgraded the response to H7N9. There continues to be no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome – Coronavirus has now unofficially entered an eighth country with news coming from the Kuwait News Agency of potential victims in Tunisia. To date there have been no reports of either of these viruses in the US, and the risk of human to human exposure is very low. However, EMS...
