From a Medication Error to Resuscitation Architecture: Why I Built The Resus Tailor
The Resus Tailor
My journey to starting this company began more than 10 years ago when I made a medication error on my very first call as a paramedic.
I had a brand-new crew—two of them had never run a 911 call before. They were not even EMTs yet. My driver was on maybe his first or second call running emergency. At one point, I delegated obtaining a 12-lead to my crew when someone asked, "Where do I put these?" That was the level of experience on that truck.
We arrived to find a post-surgical patient with chest pain. I thought, “pulmonary embolism, I've got this one in the bag before I even arrive.” Nope. It was a STEMI, a very clear one.
We gave aspirin and nitro and moved the patient to the truck. This was back when morphine was still part of chest pain management, so I was also preparing Zofran. At the same time, I was directing my crew and calling report to the hospital.
I reached into the medication box while on the phone and had a moment when I was like this is weird that I’m mixing Zofran.
I actually grabbed Solu-Medrol instead. They were in the same compartment and while distracted I grabbed the first thing that felt like a vial. I clearly knew that medication wasn’t the right one to give the patient, and I was trying to do the right thing.
That moment stuck with me, and it made me start asking why the error occurred.
The Real Problem: Human Factors in EMS
Over time, I came to understand this as a human factors issue. In high-stress situations, clinicians are managing multiple inputs at once. Decision-making, communication, and hands-on care all compete for attention.
Most errors are not knowledge failures. They are system failures. Poor organization, similar packaging, and environmental stress all contribute.
That led me to focus on designing systems that reduce the likelihood of these kinds of errors.
From Equipment to Systems Thinking
At first, it was about organization. Putting the most important things first in the bag.
Then I met Dr. DuCanto, who introduced me to Paul Swinton and the SCRAM bag. Seeing how equipment could be designed around a clinical problem changed how I thought about everything.
At the same time, I was working in a simulation lab that lived next to our organization's Human Factors Department. That's where I really understood the power of simulation and being able to integrate human factors into the training and execution of clinical decision making and clinical performance.
Building the Process Into the Product
This was the middle of 2020 during the pandemic, and I thought, "You know what, like any good paramedic, I could use another job on top of the five or six jobs I already have." So, I decided to start this company. From the beginning, I did not want to focus only on bags. Bags are essential, but they are only part of the system.
Over time, it became clear that we can tailor equipment to the agency and to the procedure. When you do that, you improve outcomes. You build the process into the product.
Rethinking Airway Management: The Precision Airway Bag
Most airway kits are fragmented and assume ideal conditions. They do not reflect how airway management actually happens in the field.
Our Precision Airway Bag (PAB) is the only bag on the market designed around a video laryngoscope-first workflow. Having a bag that has your video laryngoscope, the backup airway, and the surgical airway all in one kit is essential, and our PAB has a suction unit within it as well. You simply grab the PAB and a BVM and you can intubate somebody. It has the entire airway process in one bag.
Training Matters: Eliminating “Training Scars”
The PAB is one example of what we’ve done with bags, but we need to be able to demonstrate that you can intubate somebody with this one bag while using the SALAD technique. This is what led us to bringing on the hyper-realistic Decent Simulators.
We see the impact of training scars due to people being really rough and overriding the epiglottis. We recognize that part of this is the instruction, part of it is the manikin, and part of it is just the way it’s always been done.
Resuscitationists don’t accept that. They want the bleeding edge of technology—the next product, technique, or piece of training that elevates practice. By using more realistic simulation, we can better align training with actual clinical performance.
What Is Resuscitation Architecture?
This is where the idea expands beyond a single product or device. Resuscitation architecture looks at the full system from A to Z. How do clinicians interact with each other, their equipment, and their environment to provide excellent care? And then how do we build the systems to support them?
That is the essence of resuscitation architecture: building reliable systems that support excellent resuscitation, no matter the situation or environment.
At The Resus Tailor, our goal is to work alongside the paramedics, doctors, and nurses who keep pushing to improve EMS, emergency medicine, and critical care.
The standard isn't where we are today; the standard is achieving excellent care on every single patient encounter and thereby improving outcomes. We want to keep building the products that make that easier for clinicians to do day in and day out.
Building Better Resuscitation Systems Starts Here
If your agency is ready to move beyond standard equipment and toward system-based design, contact us to request a demo, talk with our team, and explore our solutions.