REGIONAL- Emergency medical service in northeast Minnesota scored a big win this week from the U.S. Department of Transportation with a $5 million award to implement advanced telemedicine services in 15 agencies that are part of the eight-county Arrowhead EMS Association.
The NorthEast Advancement of Rural and Remote Emergency Medical Services (NEARR-EMS) program will connect 20 ambulances in 15 agencies with EMS telemedicine services to provide area responders with real-time access to board-certified emergency personnel to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries, particularly in communities with significant numbers of fatal and serious injury crashes, as well as Tribal communities.
Avel eCare Emergency Medical Services has physicians, paramedics and nurses available to support EMS personnel who are en route or at the scene of an emergency who are able to assist with guidance from triage to trauma care within the scope of practice of the emergency personnel.
“Telemedicine can speed access to post-crash care during the critical Golden Hour in medicine, when the patient’s chances of survival are greatest. This program will deliver life-saving trauma care more quickly, helping to reduce traffic fatalities in rural communities,” said Rebecca Vande Kieft, VP and general manager of emergency services at Avel eCare in a press release.
Rural areas in Minnesota account for just a quarter of traffic crashes but represent over half of the state’s fatal crashes. The Arrowhead’s seven counties and four tribal nations averaged 9.88 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents between 2017 and 2021.
“Residents of rural and remote areas in NE Minnesota face significantly greater challenges than their urban counterparts in getting to definitive care after a crash,” said Arrowhead EMS Association Executive Director Adam Shadiow. “EMS teams have longer distances between EMS hubs and few-to-no nearby specialty centers available, resulting in increased response and transport times. We believe our NEARR-EMS program will help rural communities make the most of extremely limited resources.”
As a pilot program, the NEARR-EMS program will be monitored by a research team at the University of Minnesota Translational Center for Resuscitative Trauma Care (TCRTC). The data collected during the five-year program will be used to evaluate the efficacy of the new EMS telemedicine program, focusing on its impact on patient care.
“There has been a significant increase in traffic deaths and serious injuries across Minnesota over the last five years,” TCRTC Director Greg Beilman said. “Innovative approaches are needed to reverse this trend. This project will have a positive impact on safety outcomes through high-quality data to inform the state’s post-crash care plan.”
The Timberjay attempted to contact Shadiow to determine what North Country EMS services, if any, may be part of the pilot project, but did not hear back from him prior to press time.