San Antonio using telemedicine on 911, saving resources, taxpayer money (TX)

DALLAS — Councilmembers in San Antonio approved a program Thursday that sends some 911 callers to telemedicine when they request help.

It’s a service that no other city in the country has authorized.

The San Antonio Fire Department “is beginning to route dispatch calls to telemedicine to help weed out potential responses that can be done without actually sending units on site,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg in an appearance on Sunday’s Inside Texas Politics

Mendocino County residents can now send 911 emergency text messages (CA)

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office would like to announce that people in Mendocino County now have the ability to text their emergencies to 9-1-1 using a cellular phone.

Text to 9-1-1 is designed for hearing or speech impaired members of the community, those in a situation where it is too dangerous to make a voice call to 9-1-1, or those in an area of the county with limited service where a voice call cannot be made, but a text message can be delivered… READ MORE

After more than three decades, Pittsylvania County dispatcher signs off (PA)

After 34 years of serving Pittsylvania County as a dispatcher, Joann Luck has signed off for the last time.

Now after working her final day on Dec. 2, she’s answering the call of retirement.

Born and raised in Pittsylvania County, Luck graduated from Gretna High School in 1972. She joined the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office in 1986 following several stints in local factories…

FEMA Partnership Gives IPAWS Emergency Alerts Big Visibility

Rapidly alerting the public to what is about to occur is a key mitigation and readiness strategy of FEMA. It is one of the methods the agency has used since its inception through various radio systems since the days the nation advanced its Civil Defense posture during the Cold War.

Most recently, the Emergency Alert System (1997), which replaced the Emergency Broadcast System (1963), has been replaced with FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS)…

Minot Central Dispatch upgrading medical response technology in 2021 (ND)

In a matter of seconds, emergency situations can escalate without warning.

A new update to the technology used by 911 dispatchers in Minot.. will help identify these situtations more quickly and with less chance for error.

After receiving a $5,000 grant from the St. Joeseph’s Community Health Foundation, the system called ProQA will replace the current card system being used…