General Devices’ User Spotlight: Inside OB Alert Success at Mercy Medical Center: Faster Response, Better Patient Care
A Career Grounded in Experience
With 32 years in EMS and nearly 23 as a paramedic, Renee Rochette brings frontline insight to her role as EMS Coordinator at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.
“I’m considered an EMS coordinator… kind of the in-between between the EMS services that have medical control through Mercy Center and then the medical control doctor that kind of oversees all of the providers.” said Renee.
She still serves as a full-time paramedic with a local fire department and supports her team by handling everything from QA issues and continuing education to protocol investigations and data collection.
The Need for Change Across the Region
When Renee stepped into her current role, the GD Solution Suite was already in place, initiated by her predecessor.
“His notion of getting it on board was we needed a platform to gather data and then be able to filter through based on whatever questions our ED leadership needed. We also needed more than just the tin can and the string for EMS communications.”
The outdated reliance on radios was unreliable and inefficient. GD’s platforms offered a more advanced, precise, and scalable system—and Mercy wasn’t alone in recognizing that.
“It also helped that our other large [hospital] in the area… Baystate Medical Center… also has e-Bridge and CAREPoint. So we all kind of bought in together.” This shared implementation across neighboring hospitals created regional consistency and enhanced coordination between facilities.
Now, that spirit of unification is extending even further. Mercy Medical is part of Trinity Health of New England, and Renee is actively encouraging wider adoption within their network:
“Mercy is part of Trinity Health, and I know that we’re trying to get three of our hospitals in Connecticut on board with it also… and I’ve resoundingly said, absolutely, spend the money.”
This regional approach strengthens the continuity of care for patients and providers alike, creating a standardized, streamlined EMS-hospital communication network that spans multiple facilities—and ultimately, improves emergency healthcare across the entire system
How Mercy Uses GD Daily
At Mercy, GD’s tools are integral to EMS communication and daily hospital workflows.
“We intake probably about between four and 500 ambulances a month… on a daily basis, we get about 40 ambulances… of those 40, we probably receive 30 e-Bridges a day.”
Renee noted that e-Bridge is used for all general notifications, not just stroke or high-acuity cases: “EMS finds it seamless… to just type in the bare minimum… send pictures of STEMIs… and it all just kind of populates in one area.
