Grady EMS Services
GRADY EMS
SERVICES
When selecting Grady EMS to provide emergency medical services, our communities are not just hiring an Ambulance Company. They’re hiring an entire health system for pre-hospital care.
911 Field Operations
The Field Operations division includes all field staff deployed on the ALS 911 emergency ambulances. The ambulances are deployed using peak-load staffing and system status until deployment. At peak times in Atlanta, Grady deploys 35 ALS ambulances, one ALS Special Operations unit, three Quick Response Vehicles (QRV) ALS units, and two ALS Field Managers. All units are equipped with GPS tracking to ensure the closest unit responds to calls and mobile data terminals to receive call dispatch information. The patient charting is completed on a Toughbook, and integrated into the Computer Aided Dispatch system and ESO, an electronic patient care reporting system.
Grady EMS paramedics and EMTs use an extensive set of Clinical Care Guidelines (Protocols and Standing Orders) developed in coordination with Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine Section of Prehospital and Disaster Medicine and approved by the Grady EMS Medical Director. The majority of clinical care guidelines permit standing order medication and skill treatments. Grady EMS carries a full complement of ALS gear, Zoll X-Series cardiac monitors (12-lead, BP, pulse ox, CO2, temp, and QCPR), Lucas CPR Devices, EZ-IO Drill, I-Gel Airways as a secondary device, military tourniquets, and use Stryker power lift/power load stretchers. In addition, the QRV medics are licensed and credentialed to provide whole blood, TXA, and calcium to trauma patients suffering from hemorrhagic shock, to utilize video laryngoscope, and QuickTrach Emergency Cricothyrotomy kits.
Speciality Care Transport
Grady EMS, through its non-emergency division, provides all discharge and inter-facility transportation planning for the hospital. The Speciality Care Transport (SCT) options include ambulatory vans, wheelchair vans and BLS units for stretcher patients.
Our SCT Field Division transports patients to hospitals within the Atlanta area and specific Grady clinics through a program called the Alternate Destination Care Program (ADCP). The ADCP allows field providers to transport stable patients that meet specific criteria to one of Grady’s ambulatory care clinics. Upon arrival, the field provider will complete an assessment and make sure the EMD code is met. Patients will then be offered transport to one of four pre-selected ambulatory clinics. Should the field assessment warrant, the patient will be transported to an emergency department for evaluation.
Communications
Grady EMS E-911 Communications Center is a secondary public service answering point (PSAP), receiving all emergency calls through the city of Atlanta, College Park, and East Point. Once received, our EMD-trained dispatchers use the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch protocol system to evaluate the patient’s condition and assist in appropriately allocating resources.
To meet the demands of our community, the Communications Center uses System Status Management (SSM) to position ambulances within the response area strategically and to manage deployment and staffing patterns. The Center offers structured academic and on-the-job training, requiring employees to maintain certifications in IAED EMD, and CPR. An estimated 250,000 emergency calls are processed through our Center each year. Our Communications Center has been an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) through the IAED since 2012.
In-House Fleet Maintenance
Grady EMS ensures the reliability of all our emergency, non-emergency and support vehicles within our fleet by operating a Fleet Services and Production Facility. Comprehensive diagnostic equipment and techniques are used to perform preventative maintenance and repair services at high mechanical standards. This maintenance is designed to reduce downtime and prevent breakdowns. Additionally, each vehicle undergoes a complete service evaluation at prescribed intervals based on running time hours.
All of our mechanics have at least four year’s experience with gasoline and diesel engines and an ASE certification.
Reliant Emergency Specialties Service
A full-time Fabrication Center provides collision repair, parts replacement and complete remounting services. Our staff has more than 20 years’ experience making repairs on specialty vehicles, and can handle everything from small cosmetic enhancements to a total remount and component replacement.
To learn more about our Reliant Emergency Specialties Service, click here.
Mobile Integrated Health
The Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) program focuses on coordinating and facilitating efficient, targeted management of outpatient problems that would otherwise burden the Emergency Department, decreasing hospital admissions and improving quality of care.
Our MIH program embeds high-level clinicians with expertise in their respective fields, partnered with Grady EMS field paramedics, and deploys within our 911 system.
Partners
Grady EMS is able to leverage expertise in the field of pre-hospital emergency care to bring enhanced services, more efficient management, and cost efficiencies to the emergency services of our partners’ patient base.
Partnerships, such as Grady and RightSite Health, include providing resources to patients experiencing low-acuity concerns, using Rightsite’s team of physicians and navigators to help patients get the care they need.