Covering the 25-square-mile Dakota Valley Emergency Services District in southeastern South Dakota, the department responds to nearly 800 calls each year, safeguarding a community that swells from 9,000 residents to 15,000 people daily. Faced with growing population density, industrial expansion, and complex medical emergencies, NSCFD sought out a solution that could keep pace with high-acuity demands and reduce provider stress in time-critical situations.
Tackling a Longstanding Challenge in EMS
For decades, EMS teams have faced the challenge of estimating patient weight — a practice that frequently leads to dosing errors. With Hinckley Medical’s OneWeight system, exact patient weight is captured directly from the ambulance gurney and transmitted to the OneDose app, which instantly calculates precise medication dosages based on a department’s protocols.
Jackie Rentschler, EMS Director at NSCFD, underscored the importance of this upgrade:
“The North Sioux City Fire Department strongly supports the OneDose/OneWeight system, an essential tool for our EMS providers. OneWeight solves weight-estimation risks by acquiring patients’ exact weights. And, OneDose instantly calculates precise medications based on our established protocols and available concentrations. Plus, the system streamlines charting and reporting, saving time and reducing errors.”
Customized, Flexible, and Provider-Focused
Unlike competing products, Hinckley Medical tailors each implementation to match an agency’s existing protocols and ensures departments can autonomously make easy updates as guidelines evolve. This flexibility is critical for agencies like NSCFD, which must remain agile as their community continues to grow and their risk landscape evolves.
“Using the OneDose Admin Console, we can update protocols and notify our team members in real time — a huge advantage over other systems,” Rentschler added.
More Than Accuracy — a Complete EMS Workflow Solution
• Protocol Customization: Built specifically for each department’s guidelines, with simple updates as standards evolve.
• Streamlined Documentation: Saves valuable time on scene and reduces the administrative burden on providers.
• Provider Support: By reducing stress and cognitive load, the platform helps EMS professionals focus on critical patient care and minimizes errors.
• Adaptability: Designed to scale with departments as communities grow and new needs emerge.
• Seamless ePCR Integrations: Ensures that data automatically flow into electronic patient care records, eliminating redundant entry.
A Regional Model for Modern EMS
With mutual aid agreements extending its coverage area to 1200 square miles and 115,000 people, NSCFD is a critical safety partner in the region. By embracing OneDose and OneWeight, the department not only strengthens its own capabilities, but demonstrates how technology can help EMS agencies address rising call volumes, high-risk populations, and the demands of more advanced care.