Office of Emergency Medical Services

West Virginia University Hospital

Job Description





Job Title:
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Telecommunicator (24052)

Department:
Medical Command Center/ Department of Emergency Services

Reports To
Medical Command Manager or his/her designee

FLSA Status:
Non-Exempt

Date:
01/10/2013




Minimum Qualification:

· One-year college level courses in a related area. Must possess a current certification as a West Virginia Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic.

· ** Two years experience as a Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic



** Above qualifications may be waived in lieu of significant, relevant experience.



Summary:

Performs a wide range of communication duties involving the coordination of pre-hospital Medical Command with on-line physician direction, reporting pre-hospital activity and inbound ambulances to appropriate personnel, directly coordinates the Air Medical evacuation of seriously ill or injured patients from both in-hospital and pre-hospital settings. WVUH MedCom is the key link in the communication chain between air and ground pre-hospital personnel, and receiving hospital personnel.



Essential Duties and Responsibilities: include the following:

1.0 Coordinates and participates in the pre-hospital medical command function provided by WVU Hospital. This includes, but is not limited to the 26 county region of West Virginia known as Region VI & VII, VIII & IX, and X and XI, along with ambulance services from Pennsylvania and Maryland

1.1 Answers all request for pre-hospital medical command within two radio calls or three telephone rings.

1.2 Triages requests for medical command to assure the most life threatening are handled expeditiously.

1.3 Accurately documents medical command calls performed by protocol and/or involving physician direction.

1.4 Adheres to WV State Office of Emergency Services (WVOEMS) first responder, basic life support, advanced life support, C3IFT and critical care transport protocols.

1.5 Interacts with the medical command physician to assure the appropriate level of care is rendered in the pre-hospital setting.

1.6 Provides advance notice and medical report of patients to the appropriate personnel at receiving facilities in a professional, courteous, and timely manner.

1.7 Accurately collects and inputs data from medical command calls into the WV OEMS data base system for prehospital personnel as required by the WV OEMS

1.7 Logs all productive work activities in the appropriate data base (eg. trauma pages, stroke pages, code blues, etc).

1.8 Notifies supervision of any errors in judgment incurred while medical command is being provided.

2.0 Functions as the communication specialist for the HealthNet Aeromedical Flight Program operated by WVU Hospitals, and assists other air medical services as needed while in the command center area.

2.1 Answers all request for air medical evacuations within two radio calls or three telephone rings.

2.2 Activates the paging system for flight team members in order to alert flight crew of pending flights. Pages out flight crew as appropriate for pending flight requests and/or ground transports

2.3 Screens, in collaboration with the WVUH ED attending MCP and/or prehospital field personnel, the appropriateness of all requests and takes appropriate action in accordance with HealthNet Aeromedical Policy and WV OEMS guidelines

2.4 Provides a heading a distance to the HealthNet pilots before coordinates are provided for scene or interfacility flights in order to expedite getting specialized care to the ill and/or injured patient’s bedside

2.5 Plots accurate flight coordinates using the Flight Vector computer aided dispatch. Coordinates and obtains accurate landing zone information for all scene and hospital requests in a timely manner, including but not limited to a call sign and radio frequency to safely communicate with ground personnel.

2.6 Maintains complete and accurate flight request dispatch records including appropriate times; reason for denial, any extenuating circumstances, accurate patient information to include name and date of birth of the patient if available; the referring and receiving physician on interfacility transfer, and implementation of the overdue aircraft policy as necessary.

2.7 Interacts with outside pre-hospital and hospital personnel via telephone or radio while coordinating air medical evacuation in a professional and courteous manner at all times.

2.8 Compiles flight request data, and accurately enters the information into Flight Vector.

3.0 Receives and relays patient information from inbound ground and air transport units to the appropriate personnel. Notifies the appropriate personnel of pre-hospital activity, which will potentially impact the operation of the hospital.

3.1 Answers inbound ground/air transport units within two radio calls or three telephone rings

3.2 Receives patient information and provides report to the E.D. Charge Nurse, his or her designee, and/or the MedCom Physician as appropriate.

3.3 At the discretion of the MedCom Physician and/or in conjunction with established trauma, stroke, and cardiac team guidelines, activates the trauma team, the stroke team, and or the cardiac catheterization team providing patient report to team members via telephone or paging system.

3.4 Notifies the E.D. Staff Physician of any situation which may require implementation of the Phased Disaster Plan and makes preparations to implement the disaster plan as directed by WVU Hospital Policy and/or the E.D. Attending Physician.

3.5 Notifies appropriate ancillary departments of incoming patients, including but not limited to W.V.U Hospital security and E.D. Registration.

4.0 Coordinates MedCom’s role as a regional communication and disaster resource center. Also monitors inter-hospital transports, including but not limited to Region VI & VII, VIII & IX, X & XI field personnel.

4.1 Monitors the West Virginia E.M.S. Communications system for malfunctions and notifies the appropriate established E.M.S. Communications System service technicians and supervision when necessary.

4.2 Receives and monitors notification of inter-hospital transports by pre-hospital personnel and is prepared to coordinate further medical command.

4.3 Appropriately handles request for assistance from pre-hospital personnel.

4.4 Receives Critical Care Transport requests, appropriately triages such request, and dispatches the appropriate level Critical Care Transport (CCT) certified service to handle the CCT interfacility transfer of a critically ill or injured patient

4.4 Effectively handles request for disaster assistance.

5.0 Coordinates the activation of the WVU Hospital’s Trauma, Code Blue, Adult Rapid Response, Stroke, Pediatric Rapid Response, Cardiac Cath, and Code H Teams.

5.1 Answers the Emergency code phone line within three rings and initiates appropriate code notification via digital and overhead paging systems within one minute on the call (eg., adult/peds code blue, anesthesia stat pages, etc).

5.2 Accurately receives information and location of the code/life threatening emergent situation and documents the information in the appropriate activity log/database.

5.3 Performs the overhead page and activates the code pagers via the Inforad system within one minute or less of the call

6.0 Monitors the daily operation of the recording system for all of Medical Command communications systems.

6.1 Monitors the recording system to include proper recording and replacement of a CD for continual recording purposes.

6.2 Maintains a working knowledge of usage of the system to include instant recall of recorded information and call for maintenance.

7.0 Participates in the educational role played by WVU Hospitals in the EMT-P training curriculum. Also, seeks education and training opportunities. Maintains up-to-date certification as a WV OEMS certified EMT-P, CPR, ACLS, ITLS or PHTLS, AMLS, PEPP, and NRP.

7.1 Participates in the education of EMT-B, EMT-I, and EMT-P students.

7.2 Participates in continuing education activities and mandatory competencies as outlined by the manager and/or WVU Hospital Policy.

8.0 Provides information as requested by hospital or prehospital personnel on the recommended treatment of poisonous ingestions and/or overdoses utilizing the Micromedix system

9.0 Attends and participates in seventy-five (75%) of scheduled staff meetings.

10. Other duties as assigned.



Performance Standard: Adheres to the established Performance Expectations for WVUH Employees in the areas of People, Service, Performance Improvement, Shared Values & Culture.



Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Ability to sit and stand for long periods of time.

Ability to lift or push a minimum of 15 pounds.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.



Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

· Excellent communication, verbal, and writing skills. Working knowledge of word processing and database entry.

· Ability to work under stress and handle multiple task simultaneously.

· Basic math skills.