Videos From Expo: The Other Side of the Stretcher

Ryan D. Thorne, NRP, knows EMS, fire and rescue from all angles—he’s a paramedic and training officer, CE coordinator, and part-time and volunteer firefighter. If that’s not enough, he’s director, CEO and owner of Thorne Ambulance Service, offering 9-1-1 response and out-of-hospital care to healthcare communities and residences in the Upstate and Midlands of South Carolina, including the Bon Secours Health System.

But it took a severe motorcycle accident in 2016, resulting in a shattered humerus and open tibia fracture, along with a bumpy 45-minute ambulance ride, to open his eyes to safety practices, crew performance and the patient experience—“the other side of the stretcher,” according to Thorne.

“I finally got to see what it may be like,” he said. “A small glimpse as to what it was like for our patients.”

Seeking a culture change within his own organization, Thorne implemented an electronic safety system that tracks driver performance, assures proper safety practices such as use of spotters and safety belts, offers reporting capabilities, monitors vehicle speeds and turns, provides alerts for vehicle maintenance, and more. In this clip from the Data & Technology Summit at EMS World Expo 2017 in Las Vegas, hear Thorne describe how the system saves money, provides a marketing edge when negotiating contracts, and allows his agency to stand out as a leader in EMS.