Martin County Fire Rescue uses new app to help in caring for patients
MARTIN COUNTY — Fire Rescue started using an app called One Dose that allows crews to enhance emergency response efficiency when helping patients.
"When it first came out, there were a lot of hiccups here and there," District Chief Kevin Moore said. "We kind of had to fine tune it and we're still having the EMS captains go through and tailor it even further."
They've been working with it since January. Every fire station in the county uses it; it's tailored to their department's protocols.
The app is utilized in nearly every call and has been used to help multiple patients so far.
"We had our EMS captains and lieutenants running medical scenarios utilizing the One Dose app to get familiar with it," Moore said. "That was how we were able to determine certain things, like the ventilation was a little too fast and it needs to slow down."
One Dose allows crews to do a variety of things, including search protocols, give accurate dosing for medication, keep track of times when doing CPR, determine what size equipment to use, and pre-set vital signs so crews can quickly identify if something is wrong with a patient.
Moore said the dosages are for medications they have on hand, so crews can do emergency procedures. He said it tells them what medication to give the patient and the dosage.
"There is also filtration based on age or weight," Moore said "We can put in the weight of that patient and it tells us what drugs we are able to utilize and the amount."
Martin County: Find out where prescribed burns are happening this week
Stuart: Police issue over 30 parking tickets during Costco's opening weekend
Fire crews carry bags with color-coded pouches in them that corelate with the app that can help determine what to use on specific patients.
"When we go for a pediatric patient and it says the color is pink for this patient based on their weight and age, we can go in our bag, find the pouch with the pink coloration, pull that out," Moore said. "All of the equipment, medications, everything is in that pouch to treat that pediatric patient."
In addition to the life-saving measures, Moore said the app also has quizzes and allows them to send out messages to the entire department.
"We are definitely enjoying the process of going through this app," Moore said. "We are incorporating a bunch more things into it for easy use."
Olivia Franklin is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Olivia on X @Livvvvv_5 or reach her by phone at 317-627-8048. E-mail her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin County Fire Rescue uses new app to help patients quicker
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Utah Department of Emergency Medical Services reiterate the importance of staying safe in extreme heat
The Utah Department of Emergency Medical Services reminded that simple tips like drinking water, wearing sunscreen, and making sure you take breaks can be key to survival during extreme heat.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
In this rural Idaho county, paramedics are being trained to help with mental health crises
Just an hour after taking her first call as part of a new community paramedic program, Ashley Lynn reflects on the gaps it can fill in rural Washington County. (Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun) WEISER — In late May, Ashley Lynn responded to her first call. She drove over to the local sheriff's office, helped a man call 988 — the Idaho crisis and suicide hotline — and stayed with him until more help arrived. A paramedic for 20 years, Lynn is leading a new program in rural Washington County that's meant to help steer people experiencing mental health issues or searching for help for others toward the best resources. And, hopefully, free up resources for ambulances and law enforcement. 'The two worst places for someone in crisis to go is the hospital and jail,' Lynn said, repeating what she'd heard in crisis intervention training. 'Currently, that's our only option.' Southwest District Health launched the Washington County community paramedic program this year — calling it the first of its kind. While it's in its early stages and might evolve, some other rural Idaho counties are already wondering how they can do something similar. 'My vision for this program is to be able to bypass those destinations' — jail and the hospital — and 'get someone right into whatever service is going to best serve their needs,' Lynn told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview. So, 'they're not accruing emergency room or ambulance bills. They're not occupying a seat unnecessarily in the jail, and they're actually getting help and maybe changing the trajectory to where they can get better.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Idaho has a shortage of emergency medical services, or EMS, which is a largely volunteer workforce and isn't required to be funded by the state, Idaho Reports reported. For the past two decades, Weiser Ambulance District has worked with the same operational budget, Lynn said. Only one ambulance there is staffed with a paramedic daily. There is a backup crew, she said, but 'we don't have extra resources to go out and sit with someone who's experiencing a crisis.' 'Washington County has a really small, although very professional and amazing, team of EMS folks,' said Wendy Young, who manages the federal grant funding the community paramedic program as a project coordinator at Southwest District Health. 'So when somebody is out on one call, that means the next person that's calling, the next person that's in crisis — whether it's a health care or a behavioral health crisis — they might not get the response time that they would appreciate,' she added. If you, or someone you care about, need help with thoughts about suicide or self harm, or emotional distress, mental health or substance abuse issues, trauma or abuse, you can contact the Idaho Crisis and Suicide Hotline at 988. The 988 number is available by text and call — 24/7, every day of the year. Online chats are also available at The hotline can also dispatch a mobile response team of behavioral health professionals for in-person support. Teams are available from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mountain time, but will be expanded to 24/7 service on July 1, the Idaho Crisis and Suicide Hotline's website says. For now, the Washington County program is referral-based. Lynn's first call came from a local domestic violence-focused group. But as a paramedic, Lynn can pivot to people's needs on calls. She started by doing a basic medical screening and making sure the person was safe, she said. Then she called the crisis hotline, 988, and stayed until the mobile crisis team arrived. For calls, Lynn uses an unmarked, 'everyday looking' old county vehicle — not a full ambulance. 'Not every situation ends in transport or needing to go somewhere. But if we're able to stay with that person, deescalate the situation and hopefully resolve what's going on to some degree, and keep them where they're comfortable and safe,' she said. But paramedics on the behavioral health program crew aren't bound by the same time constraints as typical paramedics, who might need to head to another emergency call, she said. 'If we need to sit with someone for an hour, that's what we're able to do,' Lynn said. In EMS, burnout is high. But Lynn also hopes the program can show paramedics other career paths. 'My hope is that I can show that paramedics can do more than just cruise around in an ambulance and show up to bad calls and do paramedic things — that we have a lot to offer the health community,' she said. The program is funded by a five-year grant from the federal government agency called the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said Young, with Southwest District Health. The grant funds 'need to be used to divert people away from 911 or higher levels of care such as emergency rooms when such diversion is appropriate,' she said. The grant is in its second year, with the first year largely spent on administrative tasks to set up the program. In other areas with community paramedic programs, local organizations, law enforcement and even hospitals sometimes pitch in funds. About an hour away in Ada County, the community paramedic program helps law enforcement, EMS and firefighters with calls. Last year, the program responded to nearly 1,200 calls for mental health crises, substance use or other needs, Ada County Paramedics Public Information Officer Ryan Larrondo told the Sun in an email. That work included steering people toward the community crisis center, inpatient psychiatric facilities and referrals to other resources. CONTACT US But the program also helps with patients' non-emergency needs, receiving nearly 200 referrals from local first responders last year for people who need health resources that aren't mental health related, he added. In Nampa, the police department is starting a program to send a social worker out to calls with a police officer — similar to programs in local law enforcement agencies in Ada County, like at the Boise Police Department. The hope is to reduce mental health holds and avoid arrests, said Nampa Police Department Deputy Chief Curt Shankel. 'Becuase that's really a no-win, right? They're not getting the help they need there long term,' he told the Sun in a phone interview. 'So we want to be able to divert that. And hopefully be in a place where we aren't getting law enforcement called as much to the same individuals, or getting to the point where we end up having to make an arrest.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Dr Pepper recall upgraded over serious health risk
A recall on cases of Dr Pepper has been upgraded due to a serious health risk. On May 23, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Dr Pepper issued a voluntary recall on 19,203 12-pack and 24-pack cases of 12-ounce cans of Dr Pepper Zero Sugar. Then, on Thursday, the FDA's recall was upgraded to Class II, which the organization describes as a 'situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.' Although the cans, produced by Jacksonville, Florida-based Pepsi Beverages Company, were labeled 'zero sugar,' they were found to contain the full amount of sugar that is in a regular can, which is around 39 grams. The recalled cans have the product code XXXXRS05165 with a 'best by' date of February 16, 2026. The soda was only distributed to retailers in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The recall only applies to Dr Pepper Zero Sugar and not any other Dr Pepper products. Customers who have purchased the affected Dr Pepper cans are urged to return the product to where they were purchased in exchange for a full refund or to throw them away. A mislabel like this can lead to issues for anyone who needs to avoid sugar, or for diabetics who need to strictly monitor their sugar intake. If a person with diabetes eats too much sugar, it can lead to hyperglycemia, which is a condition where blood sugar levels become dangerously high, resulting in symptoms such as increased thirst and blurred vision. According to the Cleveland Clinic, if hyperglycemia is left untreated, it can develop into diabetes-related ketoacidosis (DKA), which can be fatal. The upgraded recall comes after Coca-Cola sent a letter to Costco members last week announcing that they were voluntarily recalling Topo Chico Mineral Water due to the possible presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that occurs naturally in water sources, including mineral water. According to the letter sent to customers, the health risks of consuming mineral water with Pseudomonas are 'very low' in healthy individuals and will only cause 'minor health consequences' in people with 'weakened immune systems.' 'The safety and quality of the products we offer our consumers is our top priority,' the letter read. The recall specifically applies to bottles that were sold at select Costco warehouses in Texas and Louisiana from May 20 to May 29, 2025. The water bottles were sold in 18-packs and have the lot number 13A2541 printed on both the case's packaging and the neck of the individual bottles. Customers who have purchased the affected water bottles are urged to return them to their local Costco in exchange for a full refund. Any questions regarding the recall can be directed to Coca-Cola using the phone number 1-800-GET-COKE.
