MedCom is the official Regional Medical Communications Center (RMCC) designated by the State of Tennessee Department of Public Health and Emergency Medical Services for western Tennessee. Located at Regional Medical Center, MedCom provides ground and air ambulance-to-hospital medical communications. Patients could be traveling to the hospital from the scene of an accident or being transferred from another hospital in the region. Either way, MedCom allows quality medical care to begin en route to the hospital, often making the difference between life and death.
When the call comes in…
“Trauma admission by air in ten minutes.” This announcement, signaling the arrival of an air transport patient to the Elvis Presley Trauma Center is heard as MedCom alerts the trauma team. Flight crews and paramedics transporting patients to the Trauma Center are in contact with MedCom and the trauma physicians throughout transport. This vital link through MedCom allows the flight team and paramedics to perform advanced procedures in flight to further stabilize the trauma patient.
MedComs’s experience and expertise…
Much responsibility comes with being the RMCC. For example, MedCom monitors all hospital status, records all emergency traffic, and provides additional resources when requested in disasters. MedCom is staffed 24/7 by ten full-time and three part-time EMS (Emergency Medical Service) communication specialists. Each is a Tennessee-certified Emergency Medical Technician or paramedic with at least two years field or emergency communications experience. All are FAA approved flight followers and nine communicators on staff hold National Association of Air Communications Specialist certification.
MedCom monitors HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) for area weather updates. This allows us to provide instant and accurate weather information to all ground and air ambulances within our service area. In addition to western Tennessee, MedCom also coordinates medical communications in northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas. There are roughly 200 ambulances and 18 hospitals in the region currently. MedCom coordinates all air traffic coming to Memphis area hospitals, totaling about 300 flights per month. Ambulance traffic to all hospitals totals approximately 3,000 per month.