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© 2010 USA Mobility Wireless, Inc.

Issue of Emergency Communications

Disaster Strikes!• Power lines are down• Telephone lines have been

severed• Cellular phone network is down or

overloaded• Rechargeable battery devices run

out of power

Kathryn Brinsfield, MD, MPH Disaster Committee Chair, ACEP

“In the event that community infrastructure is damaged and/or a hospital’s power or facilities experience debilitation, communication pathways, whether dependent on fiber optic cables, electricity, satellite, or other conduits, are likely to fail. Hospitals must develop a plan to maintain communication pathways both within the hospital and to critical community sources.”

- Joint Commission EC.4.13

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© 2010 USA Mobility Wireless, Inc.

Why Paging Remains so Critical

Even when the infrastructure remains intact, congestion prevents cellular service from being useful to emergency response personnel

“…it appeared to be the result of people getting on their phones to

check with family members, friends and colleagues.”

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© 2010 USA Mobility Wireless, Inc.

Emergency Management Considerations

Paging is well-established with public and private emergency response organizations throughout the country

– Governments at all levels– Other hospitals– Ambulance companies

Dependable performance in the aftermath– Superior In-Building Signal Penetration– Assured Messaging with I-LAND and 2way Wide-Area Network

• Unlike cellular SMS messages and email that are “fire and forget”

Long battery life (Disposable batteries)– Often overlooked

Broadcast group messaging (1way only)