The following was published in the Fall 2004 premiere edition of Firefighters Journal

Emergency Services Software for Fire and Ambulance

	It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention; several years ago in New City, N.Y., a software package was born out of such a necessity

   Several years ago, Dave Bernstein, an EMT with New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps, could not realize the journey upon which he was about to embark. He joined the Corps to serve as an EMT, to help those in need. He attended drills and training sessions, helped with administrative functions, and served on the Board of Directors. In all aspects, he was a volunteer EMT serving his community.

   What he didn’t realize then was that he was collecting valuable information about how a volunteer ambulance corps operates. He was learning about the efficiencies and inefficiencies, and noting the tools and resources that were available and those that were lacking. What he didn’t know was that he would later use this information to build a software product that would address these inefficiencies and provide an extremely useful tool to help the operations of ambulance corps and fire departments.

   However, it did not happen during his 8 year tenure at New City. It took longer for the full thrust of the idea to germinate. In 1996, Dave, a professional computer consultant, was commissioned by Rockland Paramedics to develop some custom software that included a payroll calculation system. While there, the seeds planted in his mind as a New City volunteer began to grow. Viewing Rockland Paramedics from the computer consultant’s point of view, and calling on his personal experiences at New City, he began to see how he could create several integrated computer program modules that would address many of the needs of a volunteer ambulance corps.

   He would discuss these ideas with his new friends at Rockland Paramedics, a forward-thinking organization who clearly outlined their needs and embraced a technological solution. Computerized solutions were created for many areas — human resources, Patient Care Records (PCR), personnel scheduling, and more. A statistical analysis system for PCR data, a tracking system for member certifications, and a comprehensive reporting system provided Rockland Paramedics with up-to-date accurate information upon which to make important decisions. As shown in the detailed Case Study below, Rockland Paramedics is an active organization who benefited greatly from this technology.

   Not forgetting his service to his community, Dave selected two modules from his creation — a Call Tracking System and a Human Resources System — and donated it to his original volunteer corps in New City. Needless to say, they were thrilled to have the availability of such a tool. They bragged about it to their community of volunteers and soon Dave was Rockland County’s new Santa. After a few of these donations, he was quick to realize that he could not properly support more sites without receiving some compensation. It was decision time — either stop the press or move it forward into the professional arena.

   He made his decision to move it forward. He worked on the product, enhancing its functionality, improving its usability and designing a proper user interface. A product was born. From the seeds as a volunteer in New City, through a development process at Rockland Paramedics, with a vision to help the volunteer community, a product was born. Necessity is the Mother of invention. This was the creation process, next would be the growing process.

   The first growth phase was to add a Scheduling System. Now with several major modules in the product, ambulance corps began to sign up — South Orangetown Ambulance Corps, Pearl River Ambulance Corps.

   Now fire departments began to show interest. The product was modified to capture data from fire runs and to track inventory of their equipment — Volunteer Hose #1, Haverstraw, NY signs up.

   The product is shown at the Vital Signs trade show in Syracuse NY — Cambridge Valley Rescue Squad signs up.

   A module to capture all data needed for LOSAP record keeping was added — Nanuet Ambulance Corps signs up.

   An Event Tracking System was added, keeping track of each drill or meeting that each member attends — Spring Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps signs up.

   The product grows and the interest grows. It’s a niche product for a niche clientele, and word of mouth is its strongest proponent. Product customization is expected and provided to each organization.

   Now a service is being provided that is larger in scale. Products for ambulance corps as well as fire departments have been created for both volunteer and paid organizations. The service of a volunteer has spawned into the service of a national product offering. Life is amazing.

Back to ESS News/Info page