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Case study Company name: St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS)
A large metro emergency service coordinating body implements a comprehensive mass casualty response communication system that improves EMS productivity up to 15%, an increase that, when seconds matter, will potentially save scores of lives. IBM Global Business Services designed and implemented the communication solution. |
Business need | The Greater St. Louis area has some 200 regional fire departments, 40 plus hospitals, and multiple EMS providers. STARRS is the regional body charged with coordinating EMS efforts across this network. The group needed a comprehensive communications system for mass casualty events to keep track of patients and alert emergency rooms of incoming casualties. To develop this, the group needed an experienced partner who could understand all the requirements, design a workable solution, and successfully implement the new technology. |
Solution | The Patient Tracking Solution allows First Responders to capture patient data and images at the incident, and transmit instantaneously over a wireless network to authorized personnel. Users can access the data via handheld devices, laptops, mobile data terminals, and PCs. IBM Global Business Services gathered requirements, helped design the solution, and then implemented the IBM and partner technology across eight counties and provided the overall management expertise, user training, and on-going technical support. |
Results The system is designed to minimize the amount of time care givers have to spend entering information so they can focus attention on assisting the patient, while still providing the most complete picture of the incident possible. Additionally, officials will have a complete view of the situation and be able to divert emergency personnel as the situation dictates. They will also be able to provide family members with more complete information when they inquire about their loved one's status and what hospital they've been taken to. STARRS expects EMS providers to increase productivity during rapid response situations by 10 percent to 15 percent due to improved response time for decision-making activities. |
Customer testimonial | “In any emergency situation where human lives are at stake, seconds count. Better medical information provided more quickly means better patient care and more lives saved.” Nick Gragnani, STARRS Deputy Director |
Customer information | St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS) | | St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS) is a regional organization formed developed to coordinate planning for responses to large-scale critical incidents in St. Louis and surrounding areas. Formed as a result of the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant Program for Homeland Security in 2003, STARRS's mission is to help local governments, businesses and citizens plan for, protect against and recover from critical incidents, such as terrorist attacks and large-scale weather catastrophes. The organization is designed around the preexisting regional homeland security strategy and addresses chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive events, as well as natural disasters. STARRS depends on the efforts of volunteers from the medical community, emergency medical services, police, public health services, fire protection, government officials and others. |
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