LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - In a life or death situation, time is vital. The Arkansas Trauma Dashboard works to provide efficiency during life hinging moments.
Whether connecting an ambulance to the correct hospital or making hospital transfers faster, the dashboard makes every second count.
"Look to the right, look at the dashboard and see can this patient go to this hospital," says Jeff Tabor, Trauma Dashboard Manager.
Hospitals detail exactly what kind of trauma they can treat and there are 15 areas of traumatic injuries. With the data, the dashboard can then quickly direct paramedics.
"We use a map and the dashboard to look for the closest most appropriate hospital based on the patients needs and the receiving hospital's capability and capacity," says Tabor.
Governor Mike Beebe recently toured the Trauma Dashboard facility and says it's raised the bar for Arkansas healthcare.
"It has the ability to save lives and has the ability to reduce the disabilities or the permanent injuries that often result when you don't have timely treatment," says Gov. Beebe.
Tabor says the trauma dashboard operates 24/7, 365 days a year and cuts down the transfer time from hospital to hospital."
"Now as we've mentioned it's live. It's always up to date and so it allows us a quick look to see hospital b has what we need so you don't have to start a phone tree of hospitals that you're unsure of," says Tabor.
Since going live in January of 2011 the trauma dashboard has coordinated the movement of around 20,000 trauma patients. So far 55 Arkansas hospitals are in the network and nearly two dozen more are expected to join this year.
According to the governor's office, the efficiency of Arkansas Trauma Dashboard has drawn national attention. Since implementation, state officials say response times have significantly shortened...to an average of less than eight minutes.
To find out if the hospital nearest you is part of this network you can visit the Arkansas Department of Health website by clicking here.