Newswise — May 17- Brick, NJ –Hackensack Meridian Health Ocean Medical Center has formed a unique partnership with Brick Police EMS to ensure that their lifesaving equipment is safe and effective when responding to medical emergencies in the community.  

“The role of the Biomedical Engineering Department at Ocean Medical Center is to maintain and service medical equipment to ensure the quality and safety of patient care,” says Robert Anderson, senior technologist, Biomedical Engineering.  “We also continuously look for new and creative ways to build and maintain relationships to support our vendors and local community and saw this as a perfect opportunity to make a difference.”

The BIOMED Department established a partnership with Brick Police EMS to validate the efficacy of patient monitors and defibrillators utilized on their emergency vehicles. To accomplish this, they created a separate file in their electronic documentation system for each piece of equipment including a maintenance schedule and specific manufacturers’ specifications. When the equipment is due for service, BIOMED notifies Brick EMS to bring in the equipment for service. If issues are discovered, BIOMED immediately works with them to correct the problem.

This is one of many collaborative projects Ocean Medical Center and Brick Police EMS have worked on over the past several years.  “This partnership provides a streamlined process that ensures that our lifesaving equipment is safe and effective and that our first responders are fully prepared when responding to an emergency,” says Robert Contreras, director of EMS, Brick Police EMS. “It gives me peace of mind to know that we are doing our very best to keep our community safe and secure.”

 “Partnerships such as these benefit the community in so many ways, says Jason Kreitner, chief hospital executive, Ocean Medical Center. “Many of our team members live and work in this community and it’s great to know that our first responders are well equipped for any emergency.”