ESO Solutions

Bossier City Fire Department Hosts Innovative ePCR Product Showdown.
ESO Solutions Wins Hands Down.

By Jeff Watson, Assistant Chief of EMS, Bossier City Fire Department

The Bossier City Fire Department in Bossier City, Louisiana, is a combination Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department that provides ALS service to approximately 70,000 residents and guests of Bossier City. We responded to approximately 9,000 calls for service in 2009, in which 7,900 of those calls were EMS related. We currently have four ALS Ambulances and two Paramedic Pumpers as well as seven BLS Pumpers that provide service.

Bossier City had been using electronic patient care reporting for approximately five years prior to making the transition to the ESO ePCR Suite. However, our existing vendor notified us that their software would no longer be supported, and as such, we began the process of choosing a new vendor. We wanted to take a straightforward, educated approach to making this huge decision, and most importantly, we wanted to get input from the end user.

ePCR Product Selection Process

After doing as much research as possible and speaking to other EMS providers, we narrowed the search to four ePCR vendors. We spoke with each company, and everyone agreed to demonstrate their product on the same day, at the same time, and to the same users for evaluation. It was referred to as the “Showdown.”
These vendors would not only have the opportunity to show their product to our personnel but also to demonstrate the product to personnel from three other neighboring departments. Each vendor was given 30 minutes to showcase its company’s product, and the software was given to the end user for a hands-on test drive. We realized this was not a perfect situation, but it allowed for feedback from the people that would use this product every day.

At the end of that day, all written evaluations were reviewed, and it quickly became apparent from the feedback that ESO Solutions would become our new ePCR vendor. The written results spoke volumes about ESO’s product when it was placed side-by-side with other products, and our personnel repeatedly chose ESO Solutions Pro ePCR over the others. And not only did the selection process go smoothly and make our choice very easy, we could not be happier with our decision on a number of fronts.

Implementation and Training

The support that Bossier City received throughout this process was very professional. ESO Solutions gave us a road map to follow for implementation and to continue to follow until the product was deployed. From the time of our initial setup, every question or concern was addressed in a timely and professional manner, including questions about our CAD interface. This has made a huge difference in our reporting accuracy.

ESO’s model of using implementation specialists has been extremely helpful, as that resource has been with us every step of the way. The knowledge provided to our end users during the training made this transition seem simple and easy. Our implementation manager has been in constant contact with our department from the beginning, and continues to communicate with us on various small issues that have become apparent after the transition. We have also found that the customer support help desk is also a great asset. It is nice to be able to speak with a “live person” in a timely manner about your concerns.

Overall, I can’t say enough about the ESO Solutions product and personnel. I look forward to continuing the great working relationship that has been established with our department.

Sincerely,
Jeff Watson
Asst. Chief of EMS
Bossier City Fire Department