St. Joseph's Hospital to direct patient care in emergency vehicles

St. Joseph’s Hospital to Direct Patient Care in Emergency Vehicles

St. Joseph’s Hospital has received an upgrade from the state Department of Public Health as it relates to ambulance communication. The hospital’s trained staff will communicate directly with emergency responders bringing patients to St. Joseph’s.

In the past, workers in the emergency department at Anderson Hospital served as the primary communicators with ambulance crews. The hospital in Maryville remains a communication hub for several other emergency departments in the region.

Hospital Medical Director Greg Miranda, D.O., says the upgrade is important because St. Joseph’s Hospital has experienced an increase in the number of patients it sees. That greater volume makes it even more essential that emergency department staff and local paramedics communicate directly rather than involve a third party.

As part of this upgrade in communication status, nurses who work in the emergency department have received a state certification as ECRNs, or emergency communication registered nurses.

“We’ve always known if patients were on their way here by ambulance,” said Barb Zaloga, unit director of outpatient services, “but this will give the emergency department physicians and nurses a more active role in their care from the moment they’re in an ambulance. The paramedics provide great care. They have protocols, and they follow them. We may at times give them directions that go beyond their protocols. What we expect to really improve is that we will communicate in a timelier manner, and when the patient arrives, the emergency department will be well prepared to begin care.”

This change in status will have little effect on where patients go for care when they’re transported by ambulance. Paramedics transport patients to the closest hospital in emergencies.