L.A. Fire Dept. Deploys Tracking Tool for COVID-19 Exposures Among Staff

PRESS RELEASE

The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), one of the world’s largest fire services, has deployed Beyond Lucid Technologies’s patient tracking software—called MEDIVIEW™ TRIPS for COVID-19 Crew Exposure Tracking—to monitor both sworn and civilian personnel who may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The LACoFD Health Programs Office is observing personnel over a 7-, 14-, or 21-day period during which team members self-report symptoms into an online form that transfers data to a longitudinal care record (“Patient Profile”), which is in turn analyzed over time using MEDIVIEW™. This lets the Health Programs Office quickly determine whose condition is improving or declining after potential exposure, and to take steps to isolate the provider-patient if necessary—or decide that he or she is cleared to work.

The approach to crew monitoring for COVID-19 exposures that LACoFD is using was invented by Cypress Creek EMS (CCEMS) near Houston. CCEMS is another Beyond Lucid Technologies partner-client using MEDIVIEW™ to track frequent users of 9-1-1, including patients with chronic care or mental health needs and substance use challenges. This type of managed care program is often called Community Paramedicine or Mobile Integrated Health (CP/MIH). Recognizing that COVID-19 exposures similarly require tracking of symptoms over time, CCEMS turned its CP/MIH program inward, adopting a data-driven approach to managing the care of its provider-patients. LACoFD augmented this method, adding automation of exposure reporting and monitoring forms.

In a letter to the International Association of EMS Chiefs (IAEMSC), Terrence J. McGregor, NRP, LP, NCEE, Central Region EMS Program Head and Clinical Director in the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services Bureau, wrote: “In Los Angeles, one of the many challenges we have encountered in our response to COVID-19, is the tracking and monitoring of our personnel. Based upon the data for COVID-19, we recognized the potential for a significant increase in the number of exposed and symptomatic personnel, and quickly identified a need to better track the health and exposure of our responders. Beyond Lucid Technologies, was able to provide a simple and cost-effective solution that was deployable over a weekend.”

McGregor continued: “In addition to increasing our Health Programs Office staffing to manage the consequences of COVID-19 responses, the inclusion of this solution has provided us with a continuous, strategic view of the health of our workforce in the face of COVID-19. We now have the ability to track each of our personnel from the onset of exposure or illness, through their return to work. Given the significant threat we face on the front lines of this health crisis, the rapid deployment, ease-of-use and comprehensiveness of MEDIVIEW TRIPS has given the Los Angeles County Fire Department the tools needed to protect and care for our personnel.”

Jonathon Feit, Co-Founder & CEO of Beyond Lucid Technologies, said, “I grew up in Los Angeles. My parents, sisters and friends live here. Imagine knowing that you’re helping keep safe those who are keeping you and yours safe. It’s why we do what we do. We’ll say it over and over again: For emergency responders wearing all patches—fire, EMS, and police—BLT will not let budget be an impediment to getting you tracking software more sophisticated than a spreadsheet, to protect your own by monitoring them from the moment of exposure through an observational program that hopefully ends with an all-clear (but we’ll track you up to hospitalization). Speaking of hospitals: We know public health agencies and hospitals desperately need access to real-time, consumable, actionable data that they can trust. Therefore, on March 20 at 5:17 p.m., at the start of this deployment, Beyond Lucid Technologies activated 75 Los Angeles County hospitals on America’s largest regional prehospital health information exchange (HIE), in collaboration with Stryker Corporation.”

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the press release above belong solely to the company/vendor/author and do not necessarily reflect those of EMS World or HMP.