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ARC WOWS EMS WITH EMERGENCY KIT
November 18, 2010. Austin Regional Clinic called 9-1-1 earlier this month at ARC Cedar Park to care for a patient in an emergency situation. After Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived and the patient was stable, the firemen were standing outside the exam room and noticed our emergency kit. One of them stated “Wow, that’s a nice box. It’s really organized”. ARC Cedar Park Clinic Manager Darlene Guynes shared the contents of the kit, including an IV supply tray, with the group of EMS workers.
One Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) said, “Great, so you can just take it and go”.
"Exactly!" she told them.
Last year, ARC formed an Emergency Preparedness Committee whose member worked hard to review and revamp the organization’s Emergency Management Program. Part of the project included developing an Emergency Preparedness Kit for ARC’s 18 clinics, to provide faster, even more efficient service to patients experiencing an emergency in our medical offices.
ARC Discovery Drs. Alison Ziari and Kelly Rice-Monteiro researched evidence-proven emergency policies and developed the whole kit, including supplies and documentation. They also searched for hours looking for just the right supply box and they found the tackle box at Academy. Patient Care Coordinator Amy Helton not only found all the supplies needed in the kit, she also set up a system so that all 18 clinics could easily keep their kits updated with the correct supplies.
Once the new plan and the new kit was in place, Drs. Ziari and Rice-Monteiro along with Patient Care Manager Cindy Gref led the implementation of the project at all 18 ARC medical offices, with the support of ARC Staff Development and ARC Clinic Managers. The result… a standardized, effective emergency plan and kit that WOWs the area’s EMS teams.
The EMT responded that he needed a box just like that and took a picture of it with his camera phone so he could find the same box.
Darlene then told the group, ARC has the exact same box and procedures at all ARC Clinics. Needless to say, they were very impressed with our clinical response to the patient, with how well prepared our documentation was before they arrived, and, of course, with the emergency preparedness kit and box.
Austin Regional Clinic – Austin Regional Clinic is a multispecialty medical group committed to providing comprehensive health care services throughout the greater Austin area. Founded by three physicians in 1980, it now provides healthcare to over 350,000 area residents with 18 locations in six cities, including both primary and specialty care. It is unique to the Austin area because of the widespread locations, convenient services and quality assurance programs. ARC patients enjoy such conveniences as same-day appointments, daytime urgent care, after hours care, and nursing services via telephone through the night. Most ARC offices also offer on-site radiology and lab services and some offices offer specialty programs such as a travel clinic and weight loss programs. Patients can also request future or same-day appointments from the ARC web site and pay their bills online. For more information, visit www.austinregionalclinic.com.