Union challenges dispatcher’s dismissal in Boardman

by | Jul 26, 2019 | Comm Center News

The Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the union that represents dispatchers in the Boardman Township Police Department, is challenging the department’s decision to terminate Casey Englebaugh, the union wrote in a news release.

OPBA contends that a Boardman News article about the situation paints Englebaugh as a “problem employee.”

“That’s fake news,” OPBA attorney Dominic Saturday is quoted saying in the release.

The union filed for binding arbitration with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service last week.

Why Are You Here?

Why Are You Here?

by | Jul 26, 2019 | Opinions

Andre Jones

I recall sitting in a 911 center recruitment session and recruiters talking to me about the lifesaving work of a 911 dispatcher. They explained the job duties, job responsibilities, job demands, and even the job stress. “Wow,” I thought. “I can do this. I can help people.”

About three years later, I was over it. What the recruiters left out is that job commitment and job satisfaction come under attack by the work environment and organizational culture. These things impacted my organizational commitment, ultimately causing me to quit. And such is the story all over the country, from center to center, the real reason for absenteeism and turnover … dispatcher not leaving the job, but leaving the organization. The illusion has always been that it is the job stress that is the cause for turnover, but it is actually the toxic culture.

The Cambridge dictionary tells us that an organization is “a group of people who work together in an organized way for a shared purpose.” However, the word organization is often self-identified as some mystically magical entity we know as “management.” This is the problem. Dispatchers typically see management as their pinnacle priority and not EACH OTHER. While management is a process of organizing the organization, they are not grand supreme. WE THE PEOPLE in the 911 center reign supreme, and without our commitment, there would be no organization.

Organizational commitment is the level of dedication of the individual to the collective purpose. It’s our individual understanding of that purpose that ultimately determines why we remain connected to it. That leads me to ask a question we should ask ourselves often … Why am I here? At a minimum, ask this question biannually during performance reviews to determine if you are in the right place. But I would challenge you to ask it daily before you walk into the workplace and put on that headset; WHY AM I HERE? Is it because you want to be here, you have to be here, or you need to be here? But don’t be confused by the question. It should be read as “Why are you here at this organization?”

Bon & Shire (2017) suggest a need to understand organizational commitment in terms of desire-based (affective commitment), obligation-based (normative commitment), or cost-based (continuance commitment). Management would have you believe you are in the 911 center to serve, and this selflessness cannot be measured. However, when staffing is not adequate, support from leadership is lacking, and there are no mental health initiatives, does that make you want to stay? Do pizza parties, cakes, free stress balls, and fancy certificates make you want to stay? I think not.

In fact, with the cognitive and emotional demands, computer problems, time pressure, interpersonal problems, work pressure and overload, we want to be on the job less and less (Schaufeli & Taris, 2014). What is management doing to cultivate the organization beyond the imposition of vision and mission statements?

Management is there to provide tools and resources so that the vision and mission are executable. However, it is unfortunate that the resources they impose like leadership, appreciation, financial rewards, and team cohesion and harmony, which should balance the demands, actually exacerbate outcomes, leading to absenteeism and turnover (Schaufeli & Taris, 2014). The only real tool and resources we have are ourselves, and the only thing we can do is go back to the basics and establish our own personal center. This requires that you evaluate YOUR purpose and your WHY and align it with your organization’s mission. This will then change the meaning of the question to be “Why are you here in this job?”

While my WHY is to help people, I can do so by “delivering the safest, most effective, and compassionate care to all its patients” at Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service, national ambulance service in the State of Qatar in the Middle East. So at the end of the day, I ask myself … was I safe today, was I effective today, was I compassionate today? The answers will potentially determine whether I am here because I want to be here, because I have to be here, or because I need to be here.

We all have a choice. I did when the vision and mission were not enough, and I lost my connection to the culture and my ability to follow management. I was ready to move on from “Crisis 911” and be a part of “Serenity 911”. In another place, I felt my purpose would be a good fit, and I could continue to be of service without giving away my “self.” After all, if we cannot take care of “self” and each other, we are in no position to care for the community.

Are you a part of Crisis 911 or would you rather be a part of Serenity 911? Even if you are on the job because you have to be there, you can still do your part to create a pleasant culture. Organizational commitment nourishes job commitment as well as mitigates turnover (Brunetto, Teo, Shacklock & Farr-Wharton, 2012). Everyone in the 911 center needs to be more involved and empowered to forge the culture—not just management.

References:

Bon AT, Shire AM. “The impact of job demands on employees’ turnover intentions: A study on telecommunication sector.” International Journal of Scientific Research Publications. 2017; 7 (5).

Brunetto Y, Teo S, Shacklock K, Farr-Wharton R. “Emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, well-being and engagement: explaining organizational commitment and turnover intentions in policing.” Human Resource Management Journal. 2012; July 8. doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2012.00198.x (accessed May 28, 2019).

Schaufeli WB, Taris TW. “A Critical Review of the Job Demands-Resources Model: Implications for Improving Work and Health.“ Bridging Occupational, Organizational and Public Health: A Transdisciplinary Approach. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. 2013; Aug. 22. doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5640-3_4 (accessed May 28, 2019).

ED-Q Performance Standards. Tenth Edition International Academies of Emergency Dispatch; Salt Lake City. 2018.

BIO

Andre Jones is the Assistant Executive Director of Communications and Control Centers for Hamad Medical Corporation, the national ambulance service in the State of Qatar in the Middle East. He is a Master Software Instructor and National Q Evaluator for Priority Dispatch Corp.™ as well as an Adjunct Instructor at Jacksonville State University’s Department of Emergency Management where he earned his BSc, M.S., and M.P.A. He is currently working on a Ph.D.

Silver Lining

Silver Lining

by | Jul 26, 2019 | Opinions

Stephan Bunker

Crime statistics involving firearms, domestic violence, sexual assaults, active shooter events, and workplace violence fill our news headlines. Particularly troubling is the instance of officer-involved shootings, especially those resulting in the death of a civilian.

With the increase in civilians purchasing firearms for self-defense, civilians with gun in hand and fearing for the safety of their home and family have been known to confront officers arriving on scene. Sadly, multiple instances making the news involve responding officers confusing well-intended civilians with that of armed offenders and tragically using deadly force in what is referred to now as “good guys with a gun.” Increasingly, assailants are intentionally forcing officers to use deadly force, often referred to as “suicide by cop.”

Public reaction to such events, especially given the advent of smartphone videos and body cameras, has been quick to generate civilian outcries and demonstrations. Justified or not, these events can tear a community apart, cause loss of faith in police, and take a tremendous professional and personal toll on the officer(s) involved and fellow officers.

This is where Emergency Police Dispatchers and responding police officers share two crucial priorities: apprehension and scene safety. The collection of information helps apprehend the suspect and plays a pivotal role in protecting an officer’s survival in the field.

Given a review of the work of emergency dispatchers, it is recognized that the actions and decision-making by them in the first minute or two in a call can affect the outcome of the next hour or two at the scene and the success or failure of the operation, or safety of an officer. Given the rise in calls for service, with fewer officers to respond, help cannot wait until officers arrive, putting “boots are on the ground.” The collection of information such as scene safety issues, weapons used or available, injuries, and description and location of assailants are critical elements in scene safety and help officers make more well-informed tactical decisions in their response. Carefully trained dispatchers, guided by structured protocols, can more accurately identify such threats to officers by asking Key Questions related to access to weapons and threats made by the assailant. (see State of Ga. v. Christopher Calmer)

Because dispatchers are also the first contact with the caller, they have the first and best opportunity to influence those at the scene. For example, in situations with hostages or barricaded subjects, a dispatcher is the de facto “negotiator” until officers arrive.

Officers are certainly under a high degree of stress and depend upon the degree of their training and adherence to approved policies and practices. Likewise, police dispatchers suffer similar stress in dealing with challenging callers who are often hurt, frightened, and angered, all while concerned for officer safety. Emergency dispatchers need a plan to manage stress that adheres to carefully worded guidance as found in a Priority Dispatch System™. Such a resource in stressful situations helps to eliminate errors or omissions in information collected and the instructions given. Responding officers receive the consistent quality of information they depend upon to ensure their safety and effectiveness.

After almost 40 years of using a priority dispatch response system, the emergency dispatch profession has learned that help begins with answering the call and continues until officer arrival on scene. This is referred to as “zero response time,” where emergency dispatch professionals, guided by well-thought-out protocols, can immediately offer lifesaving Pre-Arrival and Post-Dispatch Instructions to callers.

In my decades in public safety I have seen great strides in the professionalism of our sworn officers. I look forward to the time when our dispatch centers adopt a standard of care in police call answering and dispatching. The two share a common thread in officer safety and quick apprehension of offenders, while protecting the public. I pray that in doing so, may we all be spared the sad occasion of adding another officer’s name to a memorial wall.

Dispatchers asking callers more questions for a reason

by | Jul 26, 2019 | Comm Center News

JEFFERSON — The county’s 911 dispatchers are following a new set of procedures which involves callers being asked more questions, and officials want the public to know what the change is all about and that it is not delaying the time it takes to dispatch an ambulance.

County 911 was established in 1990. Up until a state-mandated change was implemented in November in Ashtabula County, dispatchers largely focused on what the emergency is, where it happened and sending first responders to the location.

In 2016 the state mandated that all public safety answering points provide emergency medical dispatching. This means that dispatchers ask callers certain questions on medical calls and based upon the answers they receive they then stay on the line and tell callers what steps to take — such as how to do a Heimlich maneuver during a choking incident or to administer an aspirin during a potential heart attack — until an ambulance arrives.

Some agencies, such as Community Care Ambulance, have long been following the new rules while others, like the county’s 911 system, have only recently stepped on board.

Ashtabula County 911 has received more than 16,300 calls from January to present and of those calls more than 2,500 required emergency medical dispatching.

AT&T Says User Permissions on Handsets Could Hinder 9-1-1 Z-Axis Rules

by | Jul 26, 2019 | Comm Center News

“Because these calibration processes would, by necessity, share detailed location information with a third party outside of the context of a 9-1-1 call, they would require user consent, such as by providing the user an option to enable/disable such processes,” AT&T said in an ex parte filing. “While such Z-axis solutions may produce vertical location results within the FCC’s proposed 3-meter accuracy target when enabled, these solutions would very likely produce results outside this target if users declined permissions for these processes to operate.

Therefore, the FCC should consider whether these options for Z-axis solutions would be able to comply with the commission’s proposed vertical accuracy rules or whether it should consider adopting a more flexible vertical accuracy requirement, AT&T said.

In June, AT&T argued against requiring floor-level data and agreed with Google that the FCC use a timetable for increasingly demanding Z-axis call coverage and/or geographic coverage requirements. “Given the variances in building structural characteristics and terrain, AT&T continues to believe that imposition of a floor level data requirement is infeasible at this time,” AT&T said in its reply comments to the FCC’s proposed rules. The AT&T ex parte filing is here.

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