Garden City Hospital in Michigan launched their 12-lead ECG STEMI Management Program the “same day” their General Devices CAREpoint and Rosetta Lts were installed. R. Lee Heath unpacked, installed and inserviced the systems by early afternoon and just a few hours later the first actual ‘live’ patient 12-lead ECG was successfully sent by Garden City Fire Department from the field to the emergency department.

The photos above show Dr. Brian Kim, watched by Dr. Roger Lewis, as the first 12-lead ECG transmission was in process, being received ‘live’ on their CAREpoint workstation. The photos also show Garden City paramedic Gary Gallow displaying the Rosetta Lt and Nextel cellphone used to perform the transmission using their LIFEPAK 12 monitor defibrillator.

Program Director, Dr. Brian Kim said, “Having the CAREpoint/Rosetta system has been a wonderful instrument in communicating with our EMS providers for both STEMI recognition and other emergent conditions. The ease of use of the systems are their beauty.”

Emergency Department Director, Barbara Coldren stated, “I have to say I have never worked on a project that went so smoothly with installation. I want to personnally thank you for all the preparation on your part. It was seamless.”

SSM St. Marys and Missouri Baptist have deployed General Devices CAREpoints and Rosetta Lts with local providers for prehospital 12-lead ECG Management. At left above is shown Diane Blumenfeld, E.D.EMS Liaison at SSM St. Marys Health Center, managing a call on their CAREpoint. The image at right shows a nurse at Missouri Baptist Medical Center managing a call on their CAREpoint workstation. Local providers utilize both cellphone and radio and Rosetta Lts to send 12-lead ECGs to the hospitals. Also, Memorial Hospital, St. Elizabeth’s in Belleville and Alton Memorial have deployed CAREpoint and Rosetta Lt systems in the region.

view: St. Louis Region: Alton Memorial and St. Elizabeth’s Deploy CAREpoints

Baton Rouge, Louisiana has launched the second EMS Telemedicine system in the nation utilizing the General Devices e-Bridge system, which integrates CAREpoint and Rosetta VC, for live hospital to ambulance video and data communications over the city’s wireless network. Shown above are images displaying live video communications, but also the live ZOLL M Series monitor data video feed.

“EMS officials knew they had a willing partner in Dr. Cullen Hebert, a critical care physician at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center who had an interest in expanding the hospital’s internal telemedicine program. At the same time, East Baton Rouge Parish Information Services Director Don Evans knew the wireless mesh network the Mayor was expanding to accommodate other public safety applications was perfect for the task.”

view: Network Video Interviews (shows live e-Bridge operations)
read: Baton Rouge PR Release – March 12, 2009
tour: Take the e-Bridge Product Tour
source: General Devices

“We were encouraged that more EMS systems than anticipated had vehicles equipped with 12 lead ECGs, devices that diagnose STEMI and other heart attacks,” said Robert E. O’Connor, M.D., chair of the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Emergency Cardiovascular Care task force. “However, we found the need for better systems to allow EMS to transmit data from ECGs and activate the cath lab on the way to the hospital and for policies allowing them to take patients to the facility able to provide appropriate care, whether it’s the closest facility or not.”

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New York City Fire EMS (FDNY/EMS) has installed 3 CAREpoint EMS Workstations in their Woodside NY Call Center to manage on-line medical control & telemetry for the 5 boroughs of the city. The CAREpoint Workstations control FDNY’s Med Radios and will be used for their coming 12-lead STEMI program, which will also include the area’s voluntary hospital-based EMS services. Recognized as the world’s largest combined Fire EMS system, FDNY/EMS dispatched over 1.3 million ambulance runs in 2007.

The city has ordered 150 Rosetta Lts which will be delivered in the near future. These Rosetta Lts will be deployed in use on LifePAK 12 monitor defibrillators.

As part of its coming STEMI program, these units will provide the ability for medics to transmit 12-Lead ECG reports over the departments UHF MED radio system to its Telemetry Call Center. The 12-lead reports will be received on the General Devices’ CAREpoint Workstations, already installed at Telemetry, and doctors will have the ability to fax-forward a copy to the receiving hospital. The Rosetta-Lt and CAREpoint system will give FDNY the ability to send 12 lead reports without the reoccurring costs associated with cellular phones/data. Moving forward, they will also have flexibility in selecting a new monitor-defibrillator and avoiding additional costs, as the system is compatible with Physio, ZOLL and Philips models and may be readily adapted at any time in the future.

view: More about CAREpoint and Rosetta…

source: General Devices

“Medical telemetry is often thought of as just a means of sending an ECG to the hospital. But it could and should be so much more. Advances in specialized patient care have increased the demand for data communication systems. However, years of neglect have presented challenges in establishing the infrastructure to move forward.

“One system that is pretty close to achieving universal telemetry standards is the CAREpoint Workstation from General Devices. This robust, hospital-based station functions as a hub for all medical command. It can receive 12-leads from different brands of defibrillators and has integral connectivity with radio, cellular, landline, intra-net and Internet systems.

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