Preliminary Case Study: Plum EMS

Plum EMS, serving the community of Plum, PA, focused on L&S as a clinical intervention. They adopted the performance parameters set out in Pennsylvania's EMS protocols, and educated providers in appropriate times to use L&S. They required crews to complete a "special report" in their run documentation whenever they used L&S.

Plum EMS first focused on L&S use during the transport phase. They gathered immediate feedback of actual transport time (with L&S) compared it to estimated transport time (without L&S). Later on, they were also able to provide patient updates with their time comparisons. Each step of the way, Plum EMS's leaders involved their providers and gave them non-punitive, up-to-date feedback.

Seeing success in the transport phase, Plum EMS expanded their focus to decreasing responses with L&S. With support from the L&S Collaborative, they encouraged using information obtained from Dispatch to respond appropriately to each call.

By collecting high-quality data, working with providers to earn their buy-in, and leading by example, Plum EMS surpassed NEMSQA's Safety-01 and Safety-02 goals. Ambulances in Plum, PA are much safer than they were two years ago!