B (2:39)

There's both Bluetooth and direct wire technology capability between basically it's transmitted over cell service. And even in the remote areas where cell service is a little bit patchy, the Pulsara system is accumulating this data in the background and then as soon as it hits a signal, it automatically transmits, which allows that pre hospital team, that those paramedics and EMTs to be focused on working on that patient and providing care. As a former pre hospital guy, so I was a ground paramedic and a flight paramedic way back in the day and we didn't have this technology. And it's really comforting for the team to be able to know that they've got a group of specialists just at their fingertips that can help us and help them care for that patient. And so basically they get the machines hooked up. Pulsera can connect directly to their cardiac monitors and so it feeds through that system and electronically can transmit a wide amount of data to us and to our caregivers that are that are at Mercy Hospital ready and waiting for that patient to come in.

A (3:38)

And so what do they do with that information once, once it is transmitted? That helps with treatment plans?

B (3:44)

It does. So during the day we've got our cath lab. We have two cath labs at Mercy Hospital. We're the only cath lab program in the southern part of the state and serving northern New Mexico. And so we've got folks on call or in the department every day. However, if it's after five, six o' clock at night, we've got an on call team. The goal is really with this to reduce the amount of time from first medical contact to device. And device is kind of that reperfusion or the treatment time that's tracked by all of the accrediting agencies. We know that the earlier we perfuse an artery, it leads to better outcomes and that's both in hospital mortality as well as long term recovery. And so what it allows us to do specifically at Mercy, before implementing Pulsar, we had about 130 minutes from first medical contact to reperfusion time. I mean, our cardiology team has worked with Los Pinos ems, Pagosa Springs Hospital, Upper Pine ems, all Durango Fire Department and a number of other agencies. This year. Since we've implemented Pulsara, we've been able to reduce that time from first medical contact to perfusion from 130 minutes to 84 minutes. So we've seen a 35% decrease in time because typically what would happen is that patient would come to the er, they'd have a repeat ekg. Yes. You're having a stemi. We should have the cardiac team here, you need to go to the cath lab. They'd have to drive in from where they were. And so what this has allowed us to do is our cardiologist directly receives this EKG on a cell phone, is able to interpret the EKG and he or she makes the call in real time. This patient's having a stemi, hits the button, alerts our cardiac teams, and so that patient can come directly to the cath lab and undergo treatment immediately.

A (5:33)

That's remarkable. And being able to shave that much time off from the older way of doing things prior to Pulsara, what kind of results has that yielded so far in terms of patient outcomes?

B (5:45)

So we know that time is tissue. We are in the process of tracking the official data. What I can tell you anecdotally is we're seeing patients with short, shorter hospital stays getting back home and back to work and back to play in a shorter amount of time. And we're seeing better outcomes clinically for them as well.

A (6:05)

That's just amazing. What kind of training is involved in using the Pulsar system, both for Mercy Hospital or ambulance employees, EMS people? Is it a complicated thing to get.

B (6:15)

The hang of or not really, it is not. If you can operate your social media apps on your cell phone, you can understand and operate Pulsar. It is that simple. It's intuitive. It knows how to store the information, what to send. And so when those pre hospital folks hit that send button, it just automatically alerts the team that's on the receiving end of it. Those folks who have the same Pulsera on their communication devices, they get an alert, they can go right in, tap the picture, look at the ekg, they can look at vital signs, a number of different things. So it is very easy to use.

A (6:50)

What about the cost involved? Is that something that is within the budget, would you say, of many hospitals or health systems?

B (6:57)

Yeah, it is. It is not an overtly expensive investment and it's an investment in clinical care and quality outcomes. So it made all the sense in the world for us to do it. We know that if we can save one life over the course of a period of time, then those investments are well worth it. But I would say to any Hospital CEO, as well as the EMS programs that are out there. It is an affordable program that you can, you can easily integrate.

A (7:22)

Would it be as helpful, do you think, for hospitals in more urban areas that really aren't looking at the same transport times, you know, you know, with that patient in the ambulance?

B (7:30)

I think it could be used widely across all markets. I mean, I was in on the Denver Front Range before I moved to Durango, and, you know, it may take you 45 minutes to go six or seven miles if you hit traffic wrong or there's a wreck. And so time is still tissue and it's still important for those patients to receive timely care as well. And so it extends our ability for our cardiac specialists to have eyes and ears in the field, in the ambulance, and understand what's going on with the patient. It allows our clinical teams to be thinking about, you know, what kind of stimmy does this look like? What should we be prepared for when this patient comes in the door? You can have a heart attack and still have pretty stable vital signs. You can also have a heart attack and be really, really sick with unstable vital signs. And so being able to communicate that to our team just allows them to mentally prepare for what's about to come through the door. You know, listen, I was doing pre hospital care in the early and mid-90s and we didn't have this technology and we serviced some real markets and this would have been a game changer back then. I know for sure that this technology is saving lives and impacting people who live and work in my community. And that's important to me. That's why I'm passionate about being the CEO of this hospital. That's our role in this world, is to make sure that we're taking great care of our community in a way that's meaningful. And this is just another tool in our toolbox that allows us to do that.

A (8:52)

Well, thank you so much for your description of what it offers and how you're putting it to use. And, and thank you for the great care that you are offering your patients every single day. Really appreciate you being on Advancing Health today.

B (9:02)

Yeah, it's a pleasure. Thanks for asking us to talk about this.

A (9:06)

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