Escambia County Emergency Medical Services Related Programs
Special Response Team
Emergency Medical Services and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office have worked cooperatively over the past four years to develop a medical/law enforcement response team for high profile events. ECEMS personnel received specialized training related to medical tactical response. Since its inception, ECEMS Medics have responded to all SWAT Team call-outs as well as high risk warrants issued by the Narcotics Division. Through their efforts, immediate medical care has been made readily available to law enforcement officers and others requiring treatment during these specialized events.
Ambulances
Escambia County EMS operates a fleet of 21 ALS ambulances and 2 BLS ambulances. The ambulances are on a 4-year replacement cycle. Each ambulance undergoes a rigorous preventive maintenance program to minimize vehicle failures during emergency responses. The ambulances are serviced at 3 month or 2500 mile intervals.
Ambulance Cameras (DriveCam)
It is well known that vehicular collisions are a major area of liability and litigation for EMS providers. In the fall of 2002, the DriveCam vehicular camera system was purchased for use by ECEMS. A sudden acceleration, deceleration, or significant lateral force will activate the camera and record a 30 second audio and video clip. The cameras will be beneficial not only as a training tool but will document vehicular collisions.
Laptop Computers
ECEMS uses state of the art equipment and stays up to date on technology changes. Though laptops have been used for generating patient care reports since 1993, ECEMS recently transitioned to a totally integrated patient data collection and billing software system. The integrated software enables us to electronically transmit patient care data to the local hospitals. The financial investment of over $200,000 to purchase the ruggedized laptop computers, patient data collection software, billing software and required licenses has been one of our most intelligent and profitable investments. Data previously collected for QA purposes would take weeks to gather from hard-copy patient reports, but now it takes minutes. The Department has been able to expand and tailor the patient care record to ensure essential information is collected. The accuracy of patient care documentation has increased ten-fold since implementation of this electronic data collection and billing system.
Disaster Preparedness
Escambia County has had its share of disasters over the past 25 years. In 1977, we had a major train derailment resulting in an anhydrous ammonia cloud, which killed 2 and sent many more to the hospital, including ambulance personnel from EMS. This event prompted increased training and exercises for potential disaster events that could affect the County as well as EMS. Escambia County has experienced many tropical storms and hurricanes in the past 10 years. The most challenging was hurricane Ivan in 2004, whereas, Escambia County sustained widespread damage resulting in the loss of 13 lives. As a member of the County’s Disaster Committee, Emergency Medical Services is actively involved in disaster preparedness issues. This committee is made up of over 70 agencies that have varying roles in disaster response or recovery. Annually, there are a minimum of 4 training sessions and at least one disaster exercise. In 2005 – 2006 ECEMS implemented ongoing training in Weapons of Mass Destruction and Hazardous Materials.
Through our extensive planning, pre-positioned/containerized resources, and comprehensive training we are able to manage virtually any disaster to minimize loss of life and injury. Our commitment to learn from each disaster as well as taking proper action to mitigate effects from future incidents makes ECEMS a leader in disaster preparedness. Each disaster event we have experienced over the past 30 years has provided an opportunity to test and further improve our capabilities. Our employee alerting and communication infrastructure, county and regional response plans, pre-positioned and staged resources, commitment to training, continual drill practices and support of medically technologically dependent citizens during mass sheltering, clearly places Escambia County EMS above all other EMS providers.
Coordinated County and Regional Emergency Response Plans
We have a comprehensive County Disaster Management Plan that incorporates all of the County’s response capabilities. Escambia County EMS has a disaster plan that has been extensively tested and proven to work. One of the most unique features of our plan is the use of the Lifeflight Communication Center at Baptist Hospital. During a disaster or mass casualty incident, Baptist Hospital will provide updated information on available bed status from the three local trauma centers and three area tertiary hospitals. The EMS Transportation Officer coordinates patient destination through the Lifeflight Communications Center. By coordinating the transport of multiple patients, ECEMS ensures that no facility is overwhelmed and each patient has the best possibility of a favorable outcome.
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