2023 Hooley Award Winners Announced and Celebrated at ImageTrend Connect

LAKEVILLE, MINN. [July 20, 2023] - ImageTrend, LLC. announced the winners of the 2023 Hooley™ Awards at the 15th annual ImageTrend Connect Conference. The Hooley Awards celebrate innovative ideas and programs in the EMS, fire and healthcare industries. Nominees were narrowed down to a field of nine finalists – three in each of the three categories – from which the winners were selected by a judging panel of industry leaders. This year’s Judges included Lexipol Media Group Editorial Director Greg Friese, U.S. Department of Transportation EMS Specialist Eric Chaney, Houston Fire Department Associate Medical Director Chris Souders, Cambridge Consulting Group Chief Development Officer A.J. Heightman and JEMS Editor in Chief Ted Lee. ImageTrend extends congratulations to the nominees, finalists and winners of the eighth Hooley Awards.

INNOVATION AWARD

To recognize those who are serving in a new or innovative way to meet the needs of their organization, including developing programs or solutions to benefit providers, administrators, or the community.

Winner: Tyler Ostman, HealthPartners Medical Transportation

Following a Medicare audit, HealthPartners Medical Transportation (a department of Regions Hospital) implemented ImageTrend Elite™ and created a new position to help bridge the gap between clinical review and billing charge entry. The use of the Elite CQI module, initially designed for clinical quality review, allowed them to identify and address revenue loss areas. As a result, they went from being 10 months behind in CQI and charge entry to providing feedback within 24 hours, and increased ePCRs reviewed and charges entered within 2 weeks from 40% to 97%. By leveraging Elite, they successfully reduced revenue cycle lag time and provided faster clinical reviews, showcasing the innovative potential of the CQI Module.

Finalists:

Michael Wells, Montgomery County Hospital District

Tyler Ostman, HealthPartners Medical Transportation

Delaware County EMS, Ohio

NEW FRONTIER AWARD

To recognize those that are going above and beyond the call of duty and breaking new ground or serving in a humanitarian way.

Winner: Jason Schaak, West Allis Fire Department & Jennifer Hernandez-Meier, Medical College of Wisconsin

The West Allis Fire Department (WAFD) in Wisconsin has implemented a comprehensive opioid response program in collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and other healthcare providers. The program utilizes a Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) team, peer counselors, case managers and community partners to connect individuals struggling with drug use to services and increase outreach to underserved populations. The MIH team provides in-person care, connecting patients to medication-assisted treatment and harm-reduction materials. Between 2021-2022, the MIH team visited 357 out of 483 referred patients, with 164 (34% overall; 46% of those contacted) enrolled into medication-assisted treatment. The program has contributed to a 24% reduction in overdose incidents and a 9% reduction in overdose deaths in West Allis between 2018-2022, in contrast to increases in surrounding Milwaukee County. The use of ImageTrend solutions, including data analysis, has been crucial in identifying trends, understanding migration patterns of patients, and expanding services to underserved populations. The MIH team has also expanded its services to include the initiation of medication-assisted treatment using buprenorphine, becoming the first EMS agency in Wisconsin capable of providing this treatment. ImageTrend's features have facilitated patient screening, data collection and follow-up, ensuring the transferability of lessons learned to other EMS sites. Future efforts will involve leveraging telemedicine for physician consults and prescribing. The collaboration between WAFD, MCW and their partners has fostered ongoing collaboration and innovative use of ImageTrend solutions to enhance data collection, utilization and dissemination, ensuring continued care for individuals with substance use disorder.

Finalists:

Brandon Howard, West Valley Fire Department

Queen Anne's County Department of Health and Queen Anne's County Department of Emergency Services MIH Community Health Program

Jason Schaak, West Allis Fire Department & Jennifer Hernandez-Meier, Medical College of Wisconsin

SERVICE AWARD

Considers how data is being used to further the safety of their community or reach community goals, and acknowledges the fact that data is boundless and can be used in any number of ways for the benefit of society.

Winner: Zachary Potts, Albuquerque Ambulance Service

Albuquerque Ambulance staff members, like many others in their field, face significant violent encounters while on the job. Nationally, assaults against EMS providers are believed to be under-reported. To address this issue, Albuquerque Ambulance Service (AAS) collaborated with the Albuquerque Fire Department and Bernalillo County Fire Department to incorporate custom questions into ImageTrend Elite™ to gain a better understanding of the types and frequency of assaults they experienced. By allowing quick and efficient reporting, this initiative resulted in a significant increase in reported EMS assault numbers, removing a barrier to reporting. The data collected through this system enables AAS to present accurate statistics to community leaders and analyze correlations between codes, call times and geographic locations to better comprehend the circumstances surrounding EMS assaults. Additionally, by utilizing Continuum®, AAS's on-duty Commander is immediately alerted whenever a crew reports an EMS assault, allowing for prompt support, debriefing and connection to necessary services for the affected employees.

Finalists:

Zak Raab, New Jersey Department of Health

Zachary Potts, Albuquerque Ambulance Service

Cody Shea, Tacoma Fire Department

“We extend a huge congratulations to this year’s Hooley Award recipients, and an even bigger thank you for their service to their communities,” commented Joe Graw, ImageTrend President and CEO. “We’re so pleased to honor and celebrate the dedication and hard work of all nine of this year’s Hooley Awards finalists at our 15^th annual Connect conference.”

The ninth Hooley Awards will be presented during the 2024 Connect Conference. Follow ImageTrend on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for pictures, articles and more on the stories of this year’s Hooley Awards finalists and winners. Videos recaps of this year’s finalists and their nominations are also available here.

About ImageTrend, LLC.  www.imagetrend.com 

ImageTrend, LLC. is dedicated to connecting life’s most important data in the healthcare and emergency response community. ImageTrend delivers software solutions, data analytics and services for EMS, hospitals, community paramedicine (CP), critical care, fire, and preparedness to enable fully integrated patient-centric healthcare and public safety. ImageTrend’s commitment to innovation, its clients, and providing world-class implementation and support is unsurpassed. Based in Lakeville, Minn., ImageTrend combines business analysis, creative design and data driven architecture to offer scalable solutions and strategies for today and the future.