Case Study: FirstNet achieves faster time-to-treatment and secure regional emergency communications with Pulsara

How EMS and hospitals teams united to build a secure regional system of care for time-sensitive patient emergencies

FirstNet worked with Des Moines metro-area EMS and hospital teams that were hindered by a legacy, multi-channel alerting system which slowed coordination for time-sensitive emergencies like stroke and heart attack. To streamline communications and provide prioritized, secure connectivity for first responders and hospitals, the region adopted Pulsara’s mobile technology as part of a broader move to a dedicated public-safety network.

Pulsara implemented a single, real-time communication channel across the metro-area hospitals and roughly 30 EMS partners (implementation began in November 2017), enabling EMS to send live patient data and alerts so hospitals could prepare interventions in advance. As a result—and with agencies transitioning onto FirstNet for priority connectivity—teams achieved measurable gains: one hospital improved door-to-CT time by 21% (14 to 11 minutes) and door-to-lab time by 13% (38 to 33 minutes), and workflows such as direct-to-CT or direct-to-Cath-Lab became more common.

FirstNet

Dave Edgar

EMS Assistant Chief