EMS Providers Play Key Role in UM SMC at Chestertown ED Design

David Rice, chief of Kent County Emergency Medical Services

The design of the new Emergency Department at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown benefitted considerably from input provided by emergency medical services personnel in the region. “We have such a strong partnership with EMS,” says Jennifer Nutley, BSN, RN, FNE-A, manager of Emergency Services for the hospital. “We really view EMS as our team members rather than as a separate group.”

According to David Rice, chief of Kent County Emergency Medical Services, there are about 150 EMS providers “on paper” in Kent County; about half of those are active participants who respond to emergencies. Their partnership with Chestertown ED personnel goes way back, as Rice explains, “Maybe it’s because we are a small community, there’s always been a lot of overlap between the hospital staff and EMS staff and volunteers around the county. I can name at least four or five people who today are nurses, physician’s assistants or techs working in the hospital but got their start volunteering or working for one of the seven different emergency medical services providers in the county.”

When the initial planning process for the design and construction of the new Emergency Department in UM SMC at Chestertown began, the planning team invited input from EMS providers in Kent, Caroline and Queen Anne’s counties. Says Rice, “The planning team came to us and we organized a formal discussion with them to outline what we needed to do our job better.”

One of EMS’ key priorities, says Rice, was a designated room where EMS could store and control medications, supplies and equipment; another was the ambulance plug-in technology that enables EMS personnel to run life-saving equipment without keeping the vehicle running (and provides ventilation if it is running). Also on the list was an EMS work area for completing paperwork and other duties, and the ability to heat the ambulance bay during the winter months.

“After that first meeting, we received monthly updates from the planning team and they kept us in the loop all the way through the process so we could see how the project was being designed,” notes Rice. “It is really amazing to see the end result – between the new technology, much of which is becoming standard in hospital Emergency Departments, the larger and more private rooms, and the way the design serves the workflow, it is just so much better, and I have no doubt that it will help all of us – ED and EMS staff alike — provide better care for our citizens.”

While the space is new and improved, the partnership between EMS and UM SMC at Chestertown’s staff continues to grow. “We supply medications and equipment EMS uses free of charge,” says Nutley. “We also invite them to participate in training and education opportunities here at the hospital.”

EMS reciprocates, says Rice. “There are certain kinds of equipment that are used a lot by EMS, but not so much by the ED, so if needed they will borrow ours. Sharing and creativity are part of our teamwork.”

This teamwork is bolstered by the fact that the hospital and county EMS now share the same medical director, Deborah Davis, MD. Davis points out that since patients are brought from Caroline and Queen Anne’s counties as well as Kent County, working closely with all EMS providers in the region will continue to an important priority.

Davis said UM Shore Regional Health and its EMS partners will continue to find new ways to develop their partnership to treat the 14,000 cases from throughout the region that are brought to the UM SMC at Chestertown Emergency Department each year.

The new Emergency Department is projected to open by the end of September. A community-wide open house will be held on Tuesday, September 16 at 5:00pm. The public is encouraged to come out to help celebrate as well as get an insider’s look at the new space before it is in full operation.