PAVES | Emory School of Medicine

What is the Prehospital and Ambulatory Virtual Emergency Services (PAVES)?

The ultimate goals of the Prehospital and Ambulatory Virtual Emergency Services (PAVES) program are to address disparities in access to medical care, support rural EMS personnel, and provide rural patients with high‑quality care through access to advanced technical expertise and a broad network of subject matter experts across multiple specialties.

Leveraging its statewide reach, PAVES is designed to rapidly scale during public health emergencies and disasters, providing virtual physician support to EMS and healthcare partners. Through a partnership with the Southern Regional Disaster Response System (SRDRS), PAVES serves as a critical telehealth resource to strengthen disaster preparedness, response, and recovery across the southeastern United States.

In 2021, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded the Emory Rural Tele-EMS Network (ER-TEMS) a $1.2 million grant over four years. The program is now called PAVES: Prehospital and Ambulatory Virtual Emergency Services. Georgians in rural counties who need emergency medical care have access to Emory Emergency Medicine doctors and specialists even before they reach a local hospital. The program kicked-off in Randolph County in April 2021.

Early comprehensive telemedicine assessments using video technology and high-speed internet reduce unnecessary transports and optimize the utilization of hospital resources to deliver the right care at the right time and the right place. Patients are safely transported to local facilities for definitive care after initial stabilization and treatment, in collaboration with guidance from Emory's on-call emergency provider.

A call from an ambulance crew in Georgia initiates the telemedicine encounter with an Emory Emergency Medicine physician. The Emory EM physician uses a video internet hook-up to consult with the ambulance crew helping evaluate and mange the initial patient care. If needed, the EM physician in Atlanta can access the vast network of specialty health services at Emory.

EMS personnel can focus their attention on patient care while the Emory EM provider coordinates with the receiving hospital about the incoming patient's arrival and any treatment plans that have been initiated.

For more information about PAVES, link to a video here, pdf flyer here, and refer to the concept design here.

PAVES Video

Network Leadership

Michael Carr, MD Project Director/Principle Investigator

Ingrid Bloom, MD Co-Investigator

Lekshmi Kumar, MD Co-Investigator

Timothy Moran, Ph.D Co-Investigator

Michael Ross, MD Co-Investigator

Randy Lu Program Coordinator

The Prehospital and Ambulatory Virtual Emergency Services (PAVES) was previously known as the Emory Rural Tele-EMS Network and was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It was part of a financial assistance award totaling $1.2 million with 100 percentage funded by HRSA/HHS and zero percentage funded by non government source(s). The contents are those of Emory University and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.