Post-Garza County EMS first to use new scale technology on stretchers in Texas

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Post-Garza County EMS is leading the way in Texas, introducing new equipment to help determine a patient’s weight, an important metric, before giving them medicine.

The emergency service was given a grant through the Garza County Endowment Fund to get started with the new tech. The OneWeight scale, developed by Hinckley Medical, lies underneath the mattress on both of their gurneys.

With the technology, EMS can use the weight measurement to start administering the precise amount of medication a patient needs, in the crucial moments before they get to the hospital.

“Sometimes our patients are unconscious and you just have to look and guess and hope you can get it close. But, sometimes they like to lie to you...so, you have to guess,” EMS Administrator Rodney Tidwell said. “But, this actually takes all that guesswork out.”

While the OneWeight scale tracks weight, it sends that data to the OneDose app. EMTs can see exactly how much medicine they should administer, without having to take the time to calculate it.

“When it’s a bad call, where the stress is extremely high, you need something that’s going to take some of that stress away, because you’ve got so many other things that you’re having to concentrate on,” Tidwell said.

Tidwell says this type of technology can be especially beneficial with children, when there’s a small margin of error. Research from the Prehospital Emergency Care Journal shows up to 1 in 3 prehospital pediatric doses are critically incorrect.

“This takes that part out. We don’t want to have an adverse event. We don’t want to do any harm to any patients. So, this is just an added bonus to help us,” he said.

Tidwell says they are the first to use the Hinckley Medical equipment in Texas. Hospitals have used scales like this for decades, but Tidwell hopes more emergency services will implement it, giving them one more life-saving tool, when they get a call.

The OneDose/OneWeight system cost the Post-Garza County EMS $3,900 for the first year. Tidwell says it will apply for more grants to help cover the contract cost of $3,500 for each of the next two years.