RADIO COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVED RETWEEN PARAMEDICS AND HOSPITALS
RESCUE/EMS
A new radio network to greatly improve communications between paramedic mobile units and base hospitals in Los Angeles County went into operation Jan. 1. The countywide system covering 37 base hospitals and approximately 150 paramedic units from various jurisdictions is operated for the department of health services by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, according to Lloyd Helm, county fire coordinator for the system.
Los Angeles County covers more than 4000 square miles and is divided in areas by mountain ranges which make radio communications difficult The county also takes in Catalina Island.
—L. A. County F. D. photo.
The system, funded by federal and county funds, cost an estimated $6 million. It consists of 14 transmitter/receiver sites and a computer system in the county’s East Los Angeles main dispatch center to allow dispatchers to determine the best frequency for paramedic-hospital communications.
Field-to-base communications only
The system is not for unit dispatch or other communications, Helm pointed out, only for the mobile unit’s communication with the base hospital for medical instructions.
Because of limited frequencies, mobile units frequently are unable to contact their base hospital, and communications overloads sometime cause delays.
Prior to operation, Helm commented that “this new system will give us the best of all sides Now when a paramedic mobile unit tries for base hospital radio communication, it may get interference not only from other units but also from physical and geographical barriers.
“This system will enhance field communications and reduce interference and, therefore, improve operations,” the coordinator predicted.
When the field paramedic unit needs to communicate with its base hospital, the paramedic punches that unit’s own code into a new digital transmitter which feeds into the East Los Angeles dispatch center.
Computer designates frequency
The mobile unit has instant and automatic identification. The computer then “reads” the input, catalogues the signal, and displays on a screen the best frequency available in order of clarity. The dispatcher then can designate this frequency using dedicated land line patches it necessary. Or if a problem develops in the preferred frequency, he can designate the backup ones.
“We think it is a fail-safe system that has been developed. It has great flexibility,” reports Helm.
The radio receivers are of a “voter” type with the nearest and best of the 14 receivers selected for the relay to the center and the computer.
The new system, Helm notes, has other major benefits.
“For example, if a paramedic unit in the Palos Verdes Peninsula area has a venomous snake bite incident and no medical expert is available at the area base hospital, this system allows the dispatch center to patch the field unit directly to any hospital where a venom expert is on duty, thereby expediting treatment.”
Two dispatchers are on duty at all times at the new paramedic communications center, which enjoins the present county fire dispatch center. Two positions have been added to the present staff and all dispatchers rotate duty in the paramedic center There are nine dispatchers on duty, allowing for relief and overload. The center will also dispatch L. A. County fire and paramedic units and in major emergencies serve as a regional communciation center. The county fire department has two additional dispatch centers in the San Gabriel Valley and the Antelope Valley region. These are not involved in the new paramedic communication system.
