New ambulance design aims to improve safety.

A new ambulance is helping deliver emergency medical care in a manner that is intended to improve safety for patients as well as providers, increase efficiency during patient care, decrease supply costs and provide better communication with hospital staff. The ambulance is a working proof of concept using a beta version of Ferno’s new modular iN∫Traxx component set. The ambulance was built for Pulaski County Ambulance District (PCAD) in Missouri through a collaboration between Ferno, Osage Ambulances and PCAD Deputy Chief Mike McCart. The custom-designed ambulance was delivered to PCAD in late February. The ambulance is built on a 2014 Mercedes Sprinter chassis. The focus is on three main components: safety, efficiency and technological intelligence. McCart wanted a better way to carry supplies, make the supplies more accessible and control inventory of supplies to cut costs. “We have thrown out thousands of dollars of supplies because providers come back from a call and replace the supplies they used, throwing them into the cabinet in the front,” says McCart. “The supplies don’t get rotated and then they expire. We needed a way to reduce inventory and rotate the supplies more easily and efficiently.” McCart, who previously was in the military, had created his own version of a soft-sided supply kit. He approached Ferno to purchase its military track system, which he had seen in use with Ferno’s military field medical equipment, to hang the bag. He didn’t realize Ferno was at work commercializing its military system. Ferno’s new Ambulance Systems Division was working in cooperation with NIOSH and the AMD studying what happens to ambulances in a crash. The testing started with seat belts for providers but the industry ended up learning much more about the safety of the entire ambulance. “Among other things, crash testing showed that at just 30 mph, providers and patients can be severely injured with existing layouts,” says Tim Schroeder, director of ambulance systems for Ferno. “It reinforced that we needed to find a way to keep the medics safely belted and restrained, while having access to the patient, supplies and equipment. During a crash event, we need to New Ambulance Design Aims to Improve Safety