“911, what's your emergency?”
These words typically conjure up images of sirens, gurneys and hospitals. But for the TraumaOne communications staff, they signal a coordinated effort with emergency personnel to transport an injured or ill patient.
When patients are transported to the hospital, the top priority is to quickly and safely get them there. The communications staff is responsible for every patient brought to the hospital by road or air. The team dispatches multiple helicopters within a 100-mile service area. They accept all rescue calls for the hospital and notify the trauma or pediatric emergency teams of incoming patients and their conditions.
“People don’t realize how patients get here for emergent care,” said Cynthia Gerdick, division director of emergency, flight services and trauma. “The dispatchers are really the unsung heroes because they never know what happens to a patient.”
The communications staff closely works with paramedics and play a vital role in mass casualty incidents. They serve as a link between the emergency preparedness team, Trauma Center and Emergency Department, as well as city government and local agencies such as police and fire rescue departments.
“A little comprehension goes a long way,” said Haley Bastian, a communications specialist with TraumaOne. “We triage over the phone. We have to be on top of our medical knowledge and know the limits of vital signs. We have to be familiar with the intake process.”
These specialists ensure that a patient is stable before transfer. They also must know if his or her blood pressure is low and how many units of blood have been transfused. Ernie Parker, the communications team supervisor with TraumaOne, explained that the job can go from zero to 100 mph in just seconds.
“We have a staff of 13 who run the operation 24/7 every day of the year with a minimum of two staff members in at all times,” Parker said.
In addition to daily dispatching efforts, the TraumaOne communications department worked with the Emergency Department to host the first-ever dispatch conference. Emergency personnel and dispatch operators from across the state came to learn how to perform the very procedures they often direct over the phone.
UF Health Jacksonville emergency medicine physicians taught the conference to give the dispatchers a better understanding of how to perform certain medical procedures.
“I can talk about putting a bolt into the head, but until you do it, you don’t know how it feels,” Gerdik said.
Thirty-two people attended the first conference on Dec. 7, 2015, with participants from as far as Ocala, Florida. Twenty-one people attended the second conference on March 21. Organizers are working to make this training a quarterly event in 2017.
Not only are the dispatchers concerned with the safety of the patient, but they also diligently work to ensure crews on the ground and in the air are safe. With state-of-the-art equipment, including computer-aided dispatch, 800 MHz radios and advanced mapping software, specialists are able to perform flight-following. This allows real-time GPS location and radio communications with multiple aircrafts at the same time.
Without the dedication to patient safety and care from the TraumaOne communications team, those who require transport to receive emergent care wouldn’t have access to the high-quality service offered at UF Health Jacksonville.