Tag: emergency response

Tapping Immigrants to Become City Leaders, Using Design to Combat Street Pollution and More

Posted on by robbie

Nashville Is Training a New Generation of Leaders from Its Immigrant Communities, Citiscope
In 2009, a Nashville councilman proposed a ballot initiative to prevent bureaucrats from speaking anything but English. Voters defeated the nativist measure, and “Nashville has not looked back,” the former mayor says. Today, the Southern city picks leaders from immigrant communities and introduces them to various government institutions like the courts, schools and water treatment plants, in the hopes that some will one day run for local office.

Street Furniture that Helps Fight Pollution and Save Lives, Co.Design
Living near one of New York City’s ambulance stations could, paradoxically, be detrimental to your health. While parked, the emergency response vehicles leave their engine running nonstop to power their radios and refrigerate medicines, coughing out exhaust for hours. An energy startup has been tapped to place slender, metallic charging pedestals throughout the city, allowing ambulances to run their battery through an automatically retractable plug, while decreasing street pollution at the same time.

F.D.A. Agrees to New Trials for Ecstasy as Relief for PTSD Patients, The New York Times
For an average of 17 years each, a group of South Carolina patients — military veterans, rape survivors and emergency responders — had tried to get over their post-traumatic stress disorder. Neither prescription drugs nor psychotherapy worked. But the recreational drug MDMA, or Ecstasy, did. Now, a clinical trial of at least 230 patients will test whether the illegal party pill should be classified as a medical cure for the symptoms of trauma.

Florida’s Plan to Team Up for Disaster Response

Posted on by robbie

It’s common knowledge that Florida is often subject to severe weather like hurricanes and super storms, which is why it may sound strange that the state has no process in place for emergency management teams other than keeping “a basic roster.”
So now, Florida is creating a credential process for a statewide disaster-response team in hopes of being able to deploy about 20 people to respond to emergency management issues ranging from super storms to terrorist attacks.
“In the past, these teams have been fire-rescue-heavy, and that does not always work,” says Ashley Davis, deputy operations chief of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Aside from asking lawmakers to approve nearly $80,000 for a position that would lead the credentialing process, the state is also emphasizing the need for a team to send to other states during emergency situations to ensure that they’ll return the favor, reports Emergency Management.

“If Florida does not periodically deploy our teams out of state on mutual aid, we are less likely to receive mutual aid support from other states during a catastrophic event,” reads a division funding request.

In fact, Florida’s 2004-05 hurricane season saw assistance from 750 emergency management employees across 36 states. While the credentialing program is new, Florida’s initiative is among the first and considered “more forward-looking,” explains Aaron Gallaher, a division spokesman.
Because of Florida’s vast experience with bad storms, states often turn to Florida for help with weather emergencies, according to Davis.
“We, unfortunately, have a lot of experience,” Davis says.

MORE: Hurricane Katrina Inspired This Man to Revolutionize Emergency Housing

In Case of Emergency, This App Could Save Your Life

Posted on by robbie

Forget filling out medical questionnaires and memorizing emergency contact information. A new app is enabling individuals to store all that information in one place to carry around in case of an emergency.
ICEBlueButton, developed by healthcare tech company Humetrix late last year, lets users create a medical record that is then stored in a QR code that can be saved onto a smartphone or printed onto a sticker and stuck to things like children’s bike helmets. According to Government Technology, emergency responders can then scan the code for instant access to information on a person in case of an emergency.
“No one is immune to having an emergency,” says Dr. Bettina Experton, president and CEO of Humetrix. “Kids playing sports or away from home at camp can have an accident and emergency personnel need to know if they have any medical conditions or life-threatening allergies.”
The record is referred to as an ICE — i.e. In Case of Emergency — and once it is accessed, the app can also send an email alert to the individual’s designated contact through the auto-alert feature.
While the app is not meant to store a complete medical history, it can notify paramedics of allergies or medications a person may be taking.

“Checking for a smartphone has really become part of the routine for the public health professional,” Experton says. “Years ago they would look for a wallet for ID when responding to an emergency. Now they know to look for a smartphone.”

If a patient is using an app like ICEBlueButton, instant access to their health records can enable medical professionals to provide better care. Experton adds that medical professionals have already begun advising people to download ICEBlueButton.

Experton also hopes that the app can expand to disaster preparedness for national agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, ICEBlueButton was featured at the White House’s Disaster Response and Recovery Demo Day as one of the many digital tools that can help in case of emergency response.
ICEBlueButton costs $3 per month or $20 annually for the added auto-alert feature.
MORE: Send a Text, Save a Life

An App That Turns Everyday Bystanders Into Everyday Heroes

Posted on by robbie

When an airplane passenger is in physical distress, the flight attendant calls through the speakers asking if medical professionals are on board. It’s a simple action that can make a huge difference. What if we could mimic this same outreach, 10,000 feet below, everyday on the ground?
That’s exactly what the smart phone app PulsePoint (for download here) makes possible, according to Emergency Management. Using the gadgets we all carry every day, municipalities that use the free mobile service are able to send out alerts to CPR-certified citizens who are nearby someone in need. In many cases, there are just a few minutes between life and death, so every second counts. By quickening response times, this app can help save lives — before an ambulance is even in sight.
PulsePoint doesn’t replace dispatched responders, but as fast as ambulances and emergency medical technicians try to arrive, they’re often not quick enough. Once 9-1-1 is dialed and the available crew is actually with the patient, it can be too late – making those that can arrive quicker a vital resource.
San Jose became the first area city to use PulsePoint in 2012 — the app’s founder and CEO, Richard Price, is from the area, having worked as an ex-fire chief of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District. Since then, it’s caught on thanks to support from a local hospital and the results it provides. A local hospital is also planning a public registry of automated defibrillators through a new, related app, PulsePoint AED.
With decreasing local budgets for emergency response, increasing populations and traffic congestion, the demand for innovations like PulsePoint is greater than ever. By alerting off-duty first responders, medical professionals, and other CPR certified individuals of a nearby need, PulsePoint turns them into valuable lifesavers, all with the tap of a phone, making the app early — and effective — when time means everything.