Setting Up an EMS Agency
For ambulance services, fire-based EMS divisions, inter-facility transport companies and community-paramedicine programs. The emphasis is on units and crews, controlled substances, expiring supplies and protecting patient information.
Resgrid is not an ePCR. Keep patient care records in your ePCR system; use Resgrid calls, records and chat for dispatch, response, logistics and QA. Enrol in Advanced Data Protection if call notes or records will contain patient identifiers, and treat that as one control inside your own HIPAA program.
1 — Department settings
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| 24-hour time | On. |
| Staffing reset | Off (crews are on shift, not on call). |
| Require password reset via email | On. |
| Modules | Shifts, Checklists, Inventory, Records on; Maintenance with Readiness Pro. |
| Dispatch settings | Default statuses dispatched → Responding, released → Available; rest period 10 min; unit status timers 2 min (dispatched without en route) and 20 min (at hospital). |
2 — Types
| Type | Values |
|---|---|
| Unit types | ALS ambulance, BLS ambulance, Supervisor, Wheelchair van, Bariatric, Community paramedic. |
| Call types | By nature: Cardiac, Respiratory, Trauma, Stroke, OB, Behavioral, Overdose, Fall, Sick person, Interfacility transfer, Standby / event, Mutual aid. |
| Call priorities | If you use MPDS: Echo, Delta, Charlie, Bravo, Alpha, Omega (Echo/Delta = Emergency sound). Otherwise Emergency, Urgent, Routine, Scheduled. |
| Certification types | EMR, EMT, AEMT, Paramedic, CPR/BLS, ACLS, PALS, PHTLS, Driver (EVOC). |
| Note categories | Hospital diversion, Protocol updates, Drug shortages. |
3 — Groups, roles, statuses
- Stations: one per base/post with address and geofence (used for closest-unit selection).
- Roles: EMT, AEMT, Paramedic, Supervisor, Dispatcher, Driver.
- Custom statuses (EMS template): units — Available · Responding · On scene · Transporting · At hospital · Returning · Out of service · Posting; personnel — On duty · Off duty · Responding · On scene.
4 — Units and crews
Create each ambulance with roles Driver/EMT and Attendant/Paramedic (both required). Use Unit staffing at the start of every shift (or from the Unit app) so the crew is known — checklists, chat DMs to the unit and accountability rely on it. Add hardware GPS tracking bindings if the ambulances have trackers.
5 — Dispatch
- Calls from your CAD by email import; or dispatchers use the Dispatch app.
- Run cards: ALS emergency (Echo/Delta): ALS ambulance ×1 + Paramedic role ×1; BLS: BLS ambulance ×1; MCI alarm level 2 adds ALS ×2 + Supervisor ×1. Closest-unit mode, Order by driving ETA on, minimum staffing Fully staffed, auto-dispatch on with a 10-minute rest period.
- Destinations: create hospital and ED POIs under Mapping so crews pick a destination on the call.
- Protocols: pre-arrival instruction protocols by chief complaint if you dispatch in-house.
6 — Shifts
Assigned 12-hour or 24-hour shifts per station; supervisors approve trades. Turn on Use shift for group dispatch so a station page goes to the on-duty crew only. Create matching workshifts so checklists can run each shift.
7 — Checklists
| Checklist | Target | Schedule | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambulance start-of-shift | Unit | Each shift | Critical: drug box seals, O2 level, stretcher lock, monitor self-test. |
| Controlled substance count | Unit | Each shift | Witness required, photo on failure, Create work order on failure off. |
| Monitor / defib daily | Serialized equipment | Daily | Pads and battery expiry. |
| Station restock weekly | Group | Weekly |
8 — Inventory
- Items with lot tracking + expiration: medications, IV fluids, airway supplies; set minimum and reorder point; run the expiration alert weekly.
- Controlled substances: flag the items; every movement needs a witness; print the controlled-substance log monthly.
- Serialized assets: monitors, ventilators, stretchers, radios, tablets.
- Kits: jump bags per unit; issue to the unit at shift start.
- Purchasing: suppliers from Contacts; receive against purchase orders.
9 — Records and QA
- Activate Records with the Review required preset; use Run records for response documentation that does not belong in the ePCR, Unit activity per unit per call.
- Quality review: a rubric Run report QA (times complete, narrative matches interventions, protocol cited) sampling 10 per month.
- Restrict narrative and participant fields; enrol in ADP; set the disclosure statutory clock to your state's value.
- Analytics: response performance by call type; turnout target 60 s, travel target per your contract.
10 — Communication
- Messages with responses for shift coverage.
- Notifications: ALS unit available < 1 → supervisor; inventory alerts → logistics.
- Workflows: Call created → API call to billing/ePCR; Checklist failed (narcotics) → email medical director; Record finalized → export template to the medical director weekly.
- Chat: incident channels for handoffs; images off in general channels unless ADP is on.
First-week checklist
- Every ambulance created with two required roles and a Unit tablet
- Crews set unit staffing at shift start
- Hospital destination POIs created
- Narcotics checklist with witness runs each shift
- Medication lots with expiry entered; expiration alert reviewed
- ADP decision made and, if enrolled, verification prompt tested on the Dispatch console