Trek Medics Update – SMS EMS Dispatch for the Third World

In this episode, Disaster Podcast co-hosts Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley are joined by Jason Friesen, the founder of Trek Medics International. Trek Medics is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing access to emergency medical services in third world countries.

Trek Medics started as a loose-knit collection of your every-day responders — paramedics, EMTs, nurses, and doctors — who formed a unique bond through disaster deployments and international development programs. Even after thousands of hours working on the street and in emergency departments, what really opened our eyes to the need for an adaptable and inexpensive EMS systems in developing countries was the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Our experiences there forever forged the mission of Trek Medics.

Trek Medics developed Beacon to help with the delivery of care. Beacon is an open-source text message-based emergency medical dispatching platform designed by Trek Medics International and developed specifically for communities where consistent ambulance response is not available. By relaying text messages from the scene of an emergency to trained responders throughout the community, Beacon enables the nearest available emergency care providers to quickly locate, treat, and transport emergency victims to local hospitals.

Check out this episode and if you have questions, leave them here or on our new disaster podcast Facebook Group.

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.