ANCHORAGE – Through the State of Alaska’s Office of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), a new system will soon be available to all state-licensed, ground-based, 911-responding services in Alaska to help improve emergency pediatric care.
Alaska EMS is partnering with Handtevy, a company specializing in EMS pediatric technology, to offer EMS agencies a pediatric resuscitation system plus a mobile application for use during pediatric medical emergencies. The mobile application provides medical information for EMS responders within seconds as well as pediatric medication dosing and tools to help responders perform CPR and defibrillation and document care.
“This new technology puts crucial, life-saving technology at the EMS team’s fingertips, enabling clinicians to deliver consistent and safe pediatric emergency care with confidence,” said Renee Escamilla, manager of the state’s Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program. “Pediatric patient calls can be especially stressful for EMS responders because of the unique medical needs of children and their physical size. Having the right tools in the field is critical.”
The pediatric EMS system has already been implemented by several states, including Utah, Virginia, Idaho and Florida, as well as by six of Alaska’s EMS agencies, including the Anchorage Fire Department.
This contract with Handtevy, which allows up to 66 EMS agencies in Alaska to use the technology for one year, will cost the State of Alaska $54,000. The rollout of the new system will be paired with Handtevy’s educational courses, which have been extensively reviewed and approved by EMSC.
The application, which can be used on EMS mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones, can be customized for each EMS agency to include their own medication formularies and to integrate agency-specific protocols and checklists. It does not require Wi-Fi to be used and instantly performs mathematical calculations needed to adapt medical dosages for pediatric patients.
A demonstration of the Handtevy pediatric emergency system will be offered on Friday, April 29, in Anchorage by Dr. Mike Levy, the State of Alaska’s EMS medical director. Reporters interested in attending should email clinton.bennett@alaska.gov for details. For more information on the Handtevy system, please contact info@handtevy.com or visit their website.
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