When an ambulance rolls up to the emergency department at the UTMB Health Angleton Danbury Campus, nurses and physicians take time out to listen to medics.
“It’s a formalized pause when these guys show up,” said Dr. Phillip Singer, trauma medical director and emergency medical director at Angleton Danbury. “We give them 30 seconds of clarity. There’s no commotion, and we are not distracted.”
The EMS time-out process allows medics to relay key information to the hospital staff. EMS crews use the acronym MIST to relay information in those precious 30 seconds:
- M: mechanism of injury or medical complaint
- I: injuries or inspections
- S: vital signs
- T: treatment and transfer of care signature
The 30-second briefing begins when the receiving nurse calls “EMS time out” as an ambulance arrives with a patient. The nurse documents the report, and the patient is moved to a gurney. Then, EMS paperwork is signed for the transfer of the patient.
The emergency department at Angleton Danbury is undergoing a major expansion and renovation. Currently, the department features 11 beds with four trauma bays. In addition, the hospital is a Level IV trauma center that can provide advanced trauma life support prior to transferring patients to a higher-level trauma center if needed.
“We have the ability, training and equipment to stabilize a patient for transfer,” said Andrea Anderson, the Trauma Program manager at Angleton Danbury.
Anderson oversees the hospital’s trauma protocols, which are the same at all UTMB Health System emergency rooms from Level III at the Clear Lake and League City campuses to the comprehensive Level I trauma care at the Galveston Campus.
Anderson and other trauma program managers in the health system print the protocols on “badge buddies” for medics in the field.
Working together with first responders will improve patient experiences and outcomes, Singer said, and collaborating with EMS partners improves communication and strengthens relationships.
“We’re improving processes that directly affect patient care by streamlining order sets,” he said, adding that he plans to increase trauma-related educational opportunities for EMS crews.
Pictured above: Dr. Phillip Singer, trauma medical director and emergency medical director at Angleton Danbury UTMB Health Angleton Danbury Campus.