SMART Triage, World Leader in MCI Response

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As every paramedic knows, the first 10 minutes of any large-scale or multicasualty incident dictate how the rest of the incident will run. In order to get control of those first 10 minutes effectively, having the proper training and the proper equipment on scene is paramount.

The SMART TRI Pack from TSG and Kingfisher Medical is the newest tool in a proven arsenal that has been used around the world for over a decade and on scenes such as the London 7/7 bombings and the Philadelphia Amtrak derailment in May.

David Whitmore was a senior clinical adviser for London Ambulance during the 7/7 bombings. Whitmore says the intuitive layout of the pack makes deployment of the triage tags and tapes simple, and the design allows the system to be carried around easily. He says the design of the pack, although designed specifically for mass casualty situations, provides versatility in its applications. Whitemore says he has used the SMART TRI pack for pre-planned mass gatherings such as the Notting Hill Carnival, New Year’s Eve celebrations and the London Marathon. Whitmore says the company is great at working with organizations to develop ways to use the system to cover the organization’s needs.

Dave Taylor, flight paramedic and regional trauma coordinator for northeast Wisconsin, used the system on about 50 people earlier this year after his unit responded to a bus crash. Taylor says the system was simple to figure out, and he was surprised at how quickly he could change patients to different categories.

“I didn’t need to change out bags or rip things off, and it really worked phenomenally well,” Taylor says. “It’s extremely simple to implement and interacts with any triage algorithm on the planet.”
The SMART TRI Pack comes with 25 tags that are resistant to water, body fluids, gas and other chemicals. The tags are highly visible and fold to show only one color at a time, allowing for maximum visibility in a chaotic atmosphere. The red or Priority 1 patient tags can even be illuminated with red light sticks so your most critically injured patients literally “glow in the dark” and can be found easily by the transport units assigned to them.

Harry Moore, ALS coordinator with the Chester County (PA) Department of Emergency Services, says this is an upgrade over their old system where triage tags had to have the bottom portion torn off, which made changing patient condition a hassle. “You had to retag them because you tore off and threw away the other categories,” Moore says. With this system, changing patient condition is as easy as folding over the tag to show a new color. “You do your reassessment and if the patient category has changed, you flip the card to another color,” Moore says. “It’s user friendly and easy.”

The tags are tear-resistant, and have a bar code for easy tracking.

To learn more about the SMART TRI Pack and all the other SMART triage products, visit KingfisherMedical.com.