Baker Integrated Technologies
makes communicating easy.
LifeNet
Communications, a division of Rocky Mountain Helicopter, opened its first
air medical transport communications center in 1996 and chose Baker Integrated
Technologies, based in Norcross, Ga., as its integrated phone and radio
vendor.
"We chose Baker because they were heavily into aviation from a standpoint of working with the airlines," said Rick Frazer, operations manager for LifeNet Services. "Since Baker is a smaller company, I felt they were willing to work with us if we had modifications, additions, or if we had technologies that we wanted to enhance. Those were the two biggest reasons. And, of course, the product seemed to be very good."
LifeNet provides air and ground communications for 35 aircraft from New York to Arizona from their center in Omaha, Nebraska. They get calls from fire/EMS to pick up patients from accident scenes, and from small hospitals to transport to larger hospitals. Flight dispatchers then use a mapping program to locate the nearest helicopter. Using DISPATCHWorks integrated phone and radio consoles from Baker Integrated Technologies, they send alert tones to the crew and use the radio to inform them of the accident coordinates. A nurse and EMS technician on board the helicopter provide care until the patient arrives at the receiving hospital. The flight dispatcher calls the hospital to alert them that a patient is being air lifted to their facility.
"DISPATCHWorks has resulted in increased efficiency. We can now do the same job with fewer personnel," said Bill Irland, director of communications. "It makes our job a lot easier by integrating and computerizing the phone and radios."
LifeNet has had seven Baker consoles since 1996. Due to expansion, they are in the process of adding three more consoles. Manager Robert Broome appreciates how easy the addition of DISPATCHWorks consoles has been. "Instead of having to buy a physical console every time you upgrade to a new program, and having all of those consoles have every card that you need, you just plop down a PC and it all gets connected automatically," said Broome. "Updates are also much simpler. Changes made to the database automatically update everybody's computer."
That is not all Broome likes about DISPATCHWorks, which runs off a Windows NT operating system. "I like the fact that technicians can access our system remotely to do upgrades, software changes, and diagnostics. It is based on a stable operating system," said Broome. "We like the redundancy of the system. If one component fails, the other side takes over immediately. It happens without anybody even knowing it."
Dispatchers, of course, care more about the screen that is in front of them. "What the dispatchers really like about it is that they can customize priority of lines and the way the screen looks to suit their preferences. In fact, there is always a creative contest to see who can make the most hideously disgusting screen."
Copyright 2001 Baker Integrated Technologies, LLC. All rights reserved. Site updated 2/19/01.
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