Public Safety Commission recommends EMS budget item

On Monday night, the Public Safety Commission unanimously approved a resolution recommending that City Council incorporate a software update for the Emergency Services department in the Fiscal Year 2017-18 budget. The new software has already been approved through the appropriate channels, and is just waiting for the department to free up the funds in its budget or for City Council to allocate those dollars. Currently, if a client has been through the system in the last 30 days, medics are able to pull up the person’s name and address. According to EMS staff, newer software can keep track of medical and treatment history, giving medics valuable information in critical situations. “(What) jumped out at me was that every time the medics interact with a patient, from the perspective of their software it’s the first time,” said Chair Rebecca Webber. “That seems a bit short-sighted and risky just from a liability standpoint. I think we could maybe have better patient outcomes if we were able to integrate people’s prior interactions with EMS into their current one, as well as with whoever takes over care when a patient is transported.”