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Mayor & City Commission Approve Implementation of Fire Department Mobile App, Investing in Innovative Technology

COVINGTON, KY – On Tuesday evening, the Mayor & City Commission authorized an agreement implementing the Pulsara Mobile Application. The app will be used by the Covington Fire Department in conjunction with St. Elizabeth Medical Center to disseminate and expedite the communication of critical information obtained in the field.

The Pulsara App was designed to improve existing procedures so as to provide the best possible care for heart attack and stroke patients.

Emergency Medical Services Director David Geiger stated, “By providing Covington Fire Department personnel access to the Pulsara App, we can provide a valuable back-up to our existing data transmission infrastructure. Additionally, we can reduce the time from First Medical Contact on a scene until the patient receives definitive treatment for their underlying condition at the hospital.

“For the heart attack patient, this involves sharing information and establishing a communication platform with not only the Emergency Department Physician and staff, but also, simultaneously, with a Cardiologist and the Cardiac Catheterization Lab team, all in real time and with a universal clock to accurately track the elapsed time from First Medical Contact to Definitive Treatment.”

In 2016, St. Elizabeth Medical Center entered into a relationship with CommuniCare Technology, Inc. dba Pulsara to utilize the Pulsara App. The app was created to improve St. Elizabeth Medical Center’s emergency care of patients experiencing ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarctions (STEMI), the medical term for a heart attack.

Neighboring cities such as Newport, Independence, Erlanger, Hebron and Burlington have also implemented the app and have seen positive results, including a significant decrease in the First Medical Contact to Interventional Therapy (balloon) times. This is critical to reducing heart muscle damage during STEMI and improving the patient’s long term recovery.

There is no additional cost to the City for use of this mobile application.

As other new health areas are identified, the Pulsara App continues to refine and expand upon its use to improve communications between pre-hospital providers and hospital staff.

While there will be an integration period, the Pulsara App is tentatively scheduled to go live and be in effect on April 15, 2017.