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The city’s ambulance fleet is equipped with high-priced GPS – but paramedics still rely on time-consuming paper maps to get to and from emergencies.
That’s because the global positioning systems are designed only to let the FDNY keep track of the rigs, not provide directions on the ground.[1]
Why would anyone want to spend $10,000 for GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) navigation that only gives latitude and longitude?
GPS prices have come down since these were purchased and requirements for this kind of use are different from those for a personal vehicle.
But –
What is the purpose of GPS navigation that does not navigate?
How many people know how to read a map? I am referring to the under 30 year old people. So many have grown up with GPS, that they have never learned to read maps. True, video games often have maps that should develop this skill to some extent, but it doesn’t seem to work that way.
I think that map reading skills are important, but when I need to get someplace unfamiliar in a hurry, GPS can be very helpful. When I run into problems with detours or stopped traffic, GPS can help me get around the problem. How much did I pay for my GPS? Nothing. I have a phone with internet access. Is that a solution for EMS? Not really.
I like riding a horse, but I use a car to get to work. Just because something does work, doesn’t mean that it is the right tool.
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“It allows us to know the exact location of all units at any given time so we can send the closest ambulance.”[1]
If the crew on that ambulance is not familiar with the area, how does that help?
I have worked in cities where the signs are often not there. I have worked in rural areas, where everyone has a rural route or they just make up their own street number. A paper map does not help much in these situations. A GPS location from dispatch directly to the ambulances GPS would speed things up on the calls to unfamiliar locations.
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It lets the Fire Department know where its 236 ambulances are at any given moment – and city officials say it’s cut 30-plus seconds off response time since being installed.[1]
In other words, it is a $10,000 electronic babysitter that does nothing to help crews get to the call sooner. This only helps dispatch locate the closest unit faster.
This is not good management.
I used to work for people with a similar attitude. They frequently would tell people –
You are not paid to think.
It certainly wasn’t IBM.
Anybody who wants EMS to avoid thinking is asking for trouble.
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“They need to listen to the people in the field, actually doing the job, for what needs to change,” said Vincent Variale, president of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union.[1]
Maybe the employees come up with 10 bad ideas for every good idea. Is it worth it to miss out on that one good idea, just for the time savings or the ego massage of staying above the lowly street workers?
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I wonder what The Social Medic will write about this.
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Footnotes:
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[1] Ambulances have GPS, but only to track their location; must use paper maps for directions
by Jonathan Lemire and Alison Gendar
NY Daily News
Thursday, February 10th 2011, 4:00 AM
Article
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What you (and FDNY) are talking about is not GPS. It’s Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) that tells the dispatcher where vehicles are at any particular time. It also tracks speed, direction, and if configured to do so, tell when brakes are applied, when emergency lights are turned on, and so on. The system uses Global Positioning System software to do some of this.
A good CAD/MDT system would in fact include routing software which could help the crews locate call locations, but for some reason FDNY isn’t doing that right now. I understand that they city is buying a new CAD system, but I don’t know if they included mobile mapping in the mobile CAD component. They should, since the cost is minimal in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn’t mean that they will.
Philadelphia went AVL a few months back, but is still planning to add routing software. The current system gas a map that shows your location on a moving map, abd you can type in an address and go from there. Downfall is this map doesn’t show one way streets or anything like that.
Same in Western Australia. We have AVL, but it updates max every 30 seconds, and as such is useless. On the road it doesn’t seem to be all to helpful, we still get sent here, there and everywhere. Plus, often vehicles don’t track at all.
Our newest vans have GPS, but I’m told it lags badly, if you’re on a priority it may tell you to turn off once you are two streets further.