Incentives part of plan to attract, retain 911 dispatchers amid high turnover (GA)

Incentives part of plan to attract, retain 911 dispatchers amid high turnover (GA)

“I was a trainer, and I always told my trainees the calls aren’t personal, they don’t affect you,” she said. “Yes, you’re empathetic, but at the end of the day that was their fight. That was their car accident. It didn’t affect me personally. Well, then it did.”

Each day, a legion of dispatchers like Woodall man the radios at 911 communications centers across metro Atlanta and expose themselves to a constant barrage of interactions that can be both tragic and devastating. They answer calls from people in crisis and dispatch aid, serving as a bridge of intervention…

In far-west Moffat, more than 300 hope, work for reliable EMS (CO)

In far-west Moffat, more than 300 hope, work for reliable EMS (CO)

Understanding how EMS works in Dinosaur — and what that unique community needs — is an essential part of the conversation to determine the future of EMS. But it is definitely a complex piece of the overall puzzle.

One issue that increases the response times, explained Max Becker from the Dinosaur Marshal’s Office — who is also Nichole’s husband — is that when someone in Dinosaur calls 9-1-1, it can either be routed to Rio Blanco, Moffat County or Vernal’s dispatch, depending on which cell tower the call goes through. Landlines will automatically go to Moffat County dispatch, who will then need to contact Vernal dispatch in order to send an ambulance…

Public Safety Advocate: IWCE 2022

We will be attending the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) trade show next week so there won’t be time to publish an issue of the Advocate. We will be back the following week and share our take on IWCE 2022.

Last September, IWCE held a “placeholder” conference. It was a good event with many great educational sessions, but the exhibit area was very small as was the crowd. Even so, IWCE 2021 was the best it could have been given the pandemic conditions at the time…

Accreditation honor puts Morgan dispatch center among elite few (IL)

Accreditation honor puts Morgan dispatch center among elite few (IL)

The West Central Joint Dispatch Center, which is based in Jacksonville but handles emergency communications for several west-central Illinois counties, has been recognized as an Accredited Center of Excellence for its emergency fire dispatching — making it one of just two in the state.

The designation by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch has been given to just 60 fire dispatch centers in the world.

Phil McCarty, the West Central Joint Dispatch Center’s 911 coordinator, said the award was a “clear result” of the work put forth by the employees during stressful scenarios…

Editorial: Growing job vacancies could worsen city’s already dismal emergency call system (TX)

Editorial: Growing job vacancies could worsen city’s already dismal emergency call system (TX)

St. Louis city’s response times for 911 calls are slowly improving but are nowhere close to where they need to be. In what we suspect are the vast majority of cases, when citizens place a call to 911, they are experiencing some kind of crisis and very often face life-and-death consequences that require a fast yet measured response from the person on the other end of the line. The stakes are too high for the city to let those callers down by putting them on hold or failing to respond in the kind of efficient, professional manner the callers deserve…