Medical Center EMS Department Reduces Scheduling & Payroll Preparation Time By 75%

The EMS department at Uintah Basin Medical Center, Roosevelt, Utah, is comprised of 75 paid volunteers and services one of the few rural areas in Utah that has paramedic service.

The Challenge
The Director of the EMS Department, Von Johnson, knew his department would be more efficient with a better scheduling system. He had experienced many problems with the paper schedules they were using. Every month, all 75 crew members submitted their availability. Then someone would go through each one and plug their information into the master schedule which they would post in the ambulance shed. After the schedule was posted they had to rely on the crew to pick up the schedule and hope someone would fill the openings.

"Often more than one person would show up, and other times no one would show up at all. It was a mess," said Johnson. "Fortunately, a friend of mine from another agency in Nevada told me about an online scheduling system called EMS Manager...I called the company and I made the switch!"

The Solution
EMS Manager was deployed quickly and accepted easily by crew members. A couple of people had no computer experience and were reluctant to make the change. The ease of use of EMS Manager however, made it an easy transition. A year later, Johnson estimates the efficiency provided by EMS Manager has reduced his time spent on scheduling and preparing payroll by 75%.

The Benefits
Since implementing EMS Manager the crew has been able to view the schedule online 24/7 from anywhere with an Internet connection. There’s no need for the crew to travel to the facility to turn in their availability, pick up the schedule or fill open shifts. "All of our 75 crew members are part time paid volunteers and have other jobs. Most of them know what their schedule is only two weeks at a time. Before, I wanted them to commit to a month at a time and they couldn’t do it. Now, they can fill in their availability through EMS Manager when they find out and I can see it right away and fill up the schedule as needed," stated Johnson. "Now, open shifts are easy to fill without worrying if too many people will show up or worse yet, no one."

The crew often uses the system to trade shifts. Again, because they all have other jobs they need to have the ability to easily trade a shift. With EMS Manager there isn’t a risk that someone forgets they traded a shift or forgot to write it down. At a glance, all members and managers can see the schedule. Johnson also gave the ER Staff at the hospital access to the system so they can see who’s on the schedule as well.

Johnson uses the Events Calendar to post EMT classes for CME credits. He said it’s been very helpful by alerting the crew when particular classes are scheduled so they can see what topics are being taught each month. He also uses it to post other meetings and events. Everyone keeps an eye on the calendar, so even when a short notice event gets scheduled, he knows it will be seen and unlike before, he doesn’t have to call everyone to let them know.

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