Holy Name Press Releases

Holy Name Hospital Acquires Mobile Webcam Technology

March 15, 2008

Teaneck, NJ -- When an apartment complex exploded in Bergenfield two years ago, Ben Mazza, Director of Emergency Medical Services for Holy Name Hospital and coordinator of the Medical Coordination Center, recalls how challenging it was for the hospital's Emergency Department to communicate with EMS workers on the scene.

"The hospital's ER had to keep calling the scene for updates, so they knew what to expect in terms of numbers of injured and the types of injuries," he says. "Paramedics were constantly being interrupted in an effort to get the information we needed."

If only the hospital and EMS dispatch staff could have actually seen what was happening

Now they can. Holy Name Hospital has become a trial site for a mobile digital video system that Mr. Mazza hopes will "save phone calls between EMS and area hospitals during a large-scale event, reducing communications back and forth, and allowing the healthcare system to respond faster to the exact nature of the incident."

Funded by a grant from the NJ State Department of Health and Senior Services' Medical Coordination Center Program, the system uses webcam technology, which is becoming increasingly popular to monitor both public and private spaces for business, entertainment, education and security purposes.

At Holy Name, the mobile digital video system features an on-board camera installed in its EMS Special Operations van, and two portable cameras that can be deployed anywhere. Hosted by a webcam serverin this case, EarthCam, Inc.the system can send live streaming video via the Internet through wireless cell service to state, county and local healthcare response agencies with secure access to the system's IP (Internet protocol) address.

"Traditionally, hospitals will call the regional dispatch center and ask about the number of patients, the seriousness of their injuries, the changing conditions at the scene, complications from weather, and so forth," explains Mr. Mazza. "But initial arriving EMS crews are usually so overwhelmed, they don't have the time to give updates every few minutes. Now we'll have faster information because the dispatch center and hospitals will be able to see what's going on in real time."

Getting appropriate medical treatment resources sooner and reducing the amount of time patients spend on the scene are the most compelling advantages that mobile digital video system offers the community. It also provides irrefutable documentation.

"Sometimes there's a disparity between witness accounts of an event, and what actually happened and when," notes Mr. Mazza. "Video documentation helps with post-event review, allowing us to better revise our emergency response plans."

Mr. Mazza emphasizes that video footage doesn't replace person-to-person verbal communication; rather, it enhances key personnel's understanding of an incident with valuable information, minimizing the number of basic questions and interruptions to busy paramedics. He says webcam technology can also be utilized for non-emergent large scale or prolonged events, such as Fourth of July fireworks celebrations, and community exhibitions and fairs.

Aspects of the video system have already been employed during hospital emergency drills. Mr. Mazza "looks forward to providing the enhanced, detailed situational awareness that this technology can afford us during the next large-scale incident."