Lifesaving delivery drones
Flirtey has partnered with the Ambulance Service to launch the first emergency drone delivery programme in the United States. The Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) will be using Flirtey drones to deliver lifesaving defibrillators to victims of sudden cardiac arrest in Northern Nevada.
The plan is that when REMSA’s 9-1-1 communications centre receives a cardiac arrest call, in addition to dispatching an ambulance, a Flirtey drone carrying an AED will also be sent to the scene of the emergency. This will speed up the arrival of the equipment and increase the victim’s odds of survival.
Flirtey CEO Matthew Sweeny said: “We have the ability to deliver lifesaving aid into the hands of people who need it – why aren’t we as a society doing it already? This is one of the most important uses of drone delivery technology, and we believe that by democratizing access to this lifesaving aid, our technology will save more than a million lives over the decades to come.”
Together, Flirtey and REMSA are developing an emergency response and 9-1-1-integration process to allow for the rapid drone deployment program – including combining Flirtey’s flight planning software into REMSA’s highly-specialized patient care and transport programs.
The partners are working together on FAA approvals and a public education campaign focused on integrating emergency drone AED delivery into the community.
“REMSA is committed to improving the health of the communities we serve through innovative, pre-hospital care,” said REMSA CEO Dean Dow. “We’re excited to incorporate Flirtey’s drone delivery technology as part of our emergency response in Northern Nevada.”
