Local EMS gets telemedicine boost through initiative

RANDOLPH – Randolph’s ambulance is now equipped with telemedicine technology thanks to a new state initiative.

“Every person and every community deserve access to high-quality emergency care where and when it’s needed,” said Tim Wilson, the state’s director of the Office of Emergency Health Systems for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. “Installing telemedicine technology provides EMTs and paramedics with immediate, real-time, 24/7 access to board-certified emergency physicians, and emergency paramedics and nurses.”

Randolph’s EMS is one of 20 rural Nebraska communities and counties with the new telemedicine technology.

The president of the Nebraska Emergency Medical Services Association, Sandy Lewis, an EMT with 22 years of experience in rural Nebraska communities, said the new technology makes a difference.

“Many communities are 20, 30 or more miles from the nearest hospital,” Lewis said. “This helps with stabilizing patients and, in some cases, keeps them alive until they reach the next level of emergency medical services.”

The Avel eCare telemedicine equipment consists of an iPad mounted to the ambulance ceiling, said Tony Backer, captain of Randolph’s Volunteer Rescue Department.

The unit includes a camera and speaker system. “Basically what we’re doing is a Zoom call with a doctor,” Backer said as there is a health professional on the other end who can help diagnose and suggest treatment. “They can see the patient and the patient can see them. They are able to see everything going on in the ambulance.”

Since the equipment was installed about a month ago, EMTs have used the telemedicine service for nearly every rescue call.

“The members really enjoy it and really see the benefit of it,” Backer said. “If we’ve got our hands full and there’s no further diagnosis or treatment that they can give us, the best help they can be is to help chart what time we stuck the IV in, what time we gave the medication, the patient name, DOB (date of birth), and free up some hands if we need it.”

Backer said every EMS operation in South Dakota is using the Avel eCare telemedicine system and he’s hopeful that Nebraska will follow suit.

The $1.3 million telemedicine initiative that benefited the local volunteer squad was funded by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Disparities grant.

Participating sites in the telemedicine initiative include: Alma Volunteer Fire Department, Ansley Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Atkinson Ambulance Service, Aurora Fire Department, Brown County Ambulance Association, Cambridge Rescue Service, Creighton Ambulance, Crofton Rescue, Humboldt Rescue, Friend Rescue Squad, Imperial Emergency Medical Service, Morrill County Community Hospital, Ogallala Volunteer Fire Department, Pawnee County Ambulance, Providence Medical Center, Randolph Rescue Unit, Ravenna Emergency Unit, Springfield Rural Fire Protection District, Thedford Volunteer Rescue Squad and West Point Rescue.

Backer said while the telemedicine grant and a recent $44,000 purchase of a new 12-lead EKG heart monitor are boosts to the operation, more boots are needed on the ground to keep daytime EMS service afloat.

There are about 12 volunteer members serving on the Randolph EMS squad currently; however, many are away from town during the day for work in other communities.

“Currently, we have lots of evening help,” Backer said. “It’s getting rough as daytime help is terribly short right now.”

Ideally, two EMTs would be available for each call, Backer said. By law, one EMT and one driver are required at minimum.

“If myself or another EMT are not available during the day, we won’t have enough staff to make a transport from the legal sense,” he said.

If not enough personnel are available for a daytime call, mutual aid would have to be called in from Osmond or Laurel. Backer encourages anyone interested in learning more about becoming an EMT to reach out to him or anyone else on the volunteer squad.

The group recently held its elections with the following results: Backer as captain; Brent Billerbeck as president and supply officer; Joanna Rayford as vice president and training officer; Kayla Korth as secretary; and Joan Thies and Alicia Vandewalle as additional training officers.