Background:
This case study comes to us from New Jersey by way of one of the largest EMS agencies.  With over 500 employees both staff and management alike.

Problem (Before EMS Toolkit):
Employees would perform acts that weren't in-line with the most up to date company policies, guidelines and general practices.  Upon being confronted by management and all too often the response from staff would be "I didn't know".

These three words make it difficult to hold employees accountable and therefore enforce the companies stance and policies.  Staff members were getting away with nearly everything and were becoming difficult to manage.

Case Study:
With the deployment of EMS Toolkit and more importantly those features within it this company was able to create corporate policies dictating how often staff and management should log into the EMS Intranet.  By implementing this one policy they were able to turn things around with the use of daily reminder memos, online search-able PNP, SOP and Employee Handbooks all while offering an accountability that has never been achieved before. 

With EMS Toolkit, every memo, PNP, SOP, etc. read, a log event is created and further more reports that can be run showing who has read what, when and from where. With this knoweledge a company is able to determine quickly and easily if an employee was or was not in possesion of the knowledge they should have had making employee accountability that much stronger.

Within 3 months of implementing this policy, along with strong but consistent management, the nearly difficult to manage staff were finally accountable for their actions. Management could notify staff, with 100% accountability.

1. Update it frequently (announcements, news, etc) . By updating the information on your intranet site frequently, your staff gets recent and accurate information. An intranet is a great way to spread the news. 
2. Make it simple and easy to use. If it's not easy to use, people won't use it. The goal of an intranet should be to simplify and consolidate, not add to the mess.
3. Provide a search feature. Your intranet is useless if people can't find what they need. Even the most logically structured intranet needs a search bar for people in a hurry.
4. Track the usage (hits and visitors).  Your idea of what's useful and what's actually used may be completely different. Keeping stats is a good way to help you shape your intranet according to your staff's needs and expectations.
5. Organize it logically according to departments and teams. By organizing content around departments, you give each department its own place to call home. An intranet's functionality should reflect the functionality of the company.
6. Provide a starting page for each department. A starting page for each department provides staff quicker access to relevant information. It eliminates confusion and allows for much easier navigation.
7. Include files, documents, policies, procedures, etc. Keeping important information on your intranet makes it easy for staff to find what they need. And having one central location makes for faster updates when information changes.
8. List phone extensions and contact lists. Instead of having to search around for a hardcopy of phone extensions and contact lists, putting this information on your intranet makes frequently needed (and often forgotten) contact numbers easy to find.
9. Allow for feedback forms. Feedback forms and comments are a great way to improve communication and collaboration - which is the whole point of an intranet.
10. Use a content management system. Using a content management system is the quickest and easiest way to maintain an active intranet.

EMS Toolkit is proud and excited to announce that our web site is now live. You can easily find information about the EMS Intranet solutions we offer along with information on the nearly 100 features across 10 diffrerent module categories.

We invite you to take a moment to view our web site and let us know what you think.

The EMS Toolkit Vehicle Management feature is your answer to fleet management. Quickly add your fleet, their VINs, make, model, mileage, insurance information, etc. Track their ongoing maintenance and the system will even "learn" when routine tasks should be performed and alert the appropriate team member(s) via email. This system is the basis for the Vehicle Accident Tracker feature along with many of the vehicle reports.

Area Weather Knowing your area's weather can assist your staff in making judgment calls throughout their time on the ambulance. EMS Toolkit gives a simple 5 day forecast feature at your fingertips so you and your staff will always know if sunny sky's are ahead.

The Special Site Message feature allows management to easily place a message on EVERY page of the EMS Toolkit web based intranet. Messages can be classified into several categories such as Informational, Warning and Emergency. Additional customization of background colors, font colors and more allow you to drive home your message to the EMT's, Paramedics, Nurses and office staff at your EMS Agency.

The EMS Toolkit User Management feature puts you in control. With the turn-over rates within the EMS industry it is important that your information stay secure. Management staff may enable / disable access of staff emt's, paramedics, nurses or any other staff your EMS Agency may employ. You may also keep detailed demographic information, contact information and much more.

Vehicle Accident Tracker The Vehicle Accident Tracker allows you to track every accident associated with any vehicle in the EMS Toolkit system. Track who was involved, apparent faults, details, images and video if available, police reports and more.