CATALDO AMBULANCE ONLY PRIVATE SERVICE IN STATE
EQUIPPING VEHICLES WITH PRIORITY TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

SOMERVILLE, Massachusetts – Cataldo Ambulance Service, Inc. announced their decision to equip all emergency vehicles with the 3M Opticom Priority Control System. Cataldo is the only private Ambulance Service in the State of Massachusetts that currently installs the 3M Opticom Product, which allows EMTs and Paramedics to request and receive green lights as they arrive and depart from a scene.

The 3M Opticom Priority Control System enhances faster, safer emergency response by identifying emergency vehicles and allowing a temporary right-of-way through busy intersections. Cataldo Ambulance began upgrading their vehicles in January 2006 with the 3M Opticom Priority Control System. As a new standard in place for all Cataldo and Atlantic vehicles every replacement ambulance has been equipped with a traffic opticom. Cataldo Ambulance plans to have their fleet fully equipped with the Opticom system by the year 2010.

As the emergency provider to nine municipalities throughout Greater Boston and the North Shore, Cataldo EMS is often faced with heavily populated roadways and intersections. According to 3M Traffic Management Solutions, the Opticom Priority Control System helps produce faster, safer emergency response and can improve response times by an average of 20 percent. The system allows fire departments and EMS organizations to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as that of first-responder personnel. All of the nine cities throughout Cataldo and Atlantic’s primary 911 service area are now equipped with the detectors which receive the Opticom signal requests.

When an ambulance responds to an emergency 911 call, the Opticom Priority Control System activates allowing emergency vehicles to gain an intersection advantage. The Opticom emitter, located on the top of the ambulance, activates the system by transmitting a secure, encoded priority request to the intersection. A detector, located in the intersection, receives the infrared transmission and relays the request activating the traffic light change and allowing temporary right-of-way travel. The system uses a brief time delay to ensure other drivers have time to clear the intersection before the light changes to yellow and then red. All traffic signal information, including the time of light change and identification of the authorized vehicle, is recorded and archived in the system.

Cataldo Ambulance Service remains one of the most respected family owned providers of medical transportation in the Northeast. Since 1977, Cataldo Ambulance Service, Inc., has continually distinguished itself as a leader in providing routine and emergency medical services. As the needs of the community and the patient change, Cataldo continues to introduce innovative programs to ensure the highest level of care is available to everyone in their service areas.