New LIFESTAR App Improves Response Time, Location Accuracy

Wednesday, February 22, 2017
LIFESTAR  App

Amarillo, TX—LIFESTAR's new app, FirstCall, lets first responders request a LIFESTAR aircraft with the click of a button. The app aims to decrease response time and give a more precise location of the scene, as the app instantly provides GPS latitude and longitude to the aircraft crew. In certain parts of the rural Texas panhandle, mobile device signals are more reliable than radio signals. A traditional phone call may involve giving the medics descriptors like highways or crossroads. The app eliminates the need for this. A faster response time can be the difference between life and death.

The app plays an important role for first responders, as they get aircraft tracking, know where the aircraft is en route and its estimated time of arrival, which allows them to be better prepared for the patient's arrival to the hospital. If the patient needs surgical procedures or other critical tasks, the hospital can be prepared in time for the patient's arrival.

Northwest Texas Healthcare System started using the app in January and staff are working to integrate the tool with partnering hospitals and first responders.