Comm Center News
Rocky Hill Police first in state to launch public safety app (CT)
ROCKY HILL, Conn. (WTNH) – The Rocky Hill Police Department launched a new mobile app to improve communications with residents. It’s the first department in Connecticut to use the public safety app called Atlas 1. If there is a crime in Rocky Hill, there’s now an app...
EMS Advisory Committee Launched to Address Pressure on System (Canada)
The province says they’re taking steps to address pressure on emergency medical services.
In response to the increase in EMS service across Alberta, the province is launching an emergency medical services advisory committee to provide immediate and long-term recommendations to form a new provincial EMS plan.
According to the province, EMS has seen a 30 per cent increase in 911 calls over the last few months. In addition to the rise in calls, the EMS system has faced staff fatigue and illness, hospital offload delays, more requests for patient transfers, delays in receiving new ambulances, and specialized vehicle parts caused by global supply issues.
Highwood MLA RJ Sigurdson has been named a co-chair of the Advisory Committee along with Tracy Allard, MLA for Grande Prairie.
“I’ve heard Albertans in my constituency express their concern for how busy our health care providers have been, both residents and frontline staff have shared many stories about the strain currently on EMS and paramedics resulting in wait times and delays, they are worried,” said Sigurdson.
“I want to remind them and everyone that you should never hesitate to dial 911 when you or a loved one or someone else is experiencing a medical crisis.”
The committee will comprise contracted ambulance operators, unions representing paramedics, municipal representatives and Indigenous community representatives who will identify concerns and provide and inform the new plan.
“Through this committee, we’re committed to working together to develop innovative solutions to fix the delivery of EMS, address challenges facing our paramedics and ensure a world-class EMS system for all Albertans, now and into the future,” said Dusty Myshrall, president of the Alberta Paramedics Association.
Alberta Health Services says they have a 10-point-plan to address the current strain on EMS services and ensure the most critical patients receive immediate care while maximizing existing system capacity.
Five of the 10 actions are already underway, including:
-Hiring more paramedics.
-Launching pilot projects to manage non-emergency inter-facility transfers.
-Initiating an ‘hours of work’ project to help ease staff fatigue.
-Transferring low-priority calls to other agencies in consultation with EMS physicians.
-Stopping the automatic dispatch of ambulances to motor vehicle collisions that don’t have injuries.
Five additional actions are to come, which include:
-Creating a new integrated operations centre in Calgary, bringing paramedic leads and hospital staff together to improve integration, movement of resources and flow of patients.
-Evaluation by an emergency communications officer to determine if an ambulance from out of the area, though it may be closest to a 911 call, is most appropriate to respond. “If an ambulance from Okotoks is in Calgary and has dropped off a patient, it may technically be the closest ambulance to a Calgary call, but it actually may be more appropriate to route that ambulance back to its home community of Okotoks and send the next closest Calgary ambulance to that 911 call,” said Sandbeck.
-Implementing a pilot project in Red Deer that will manage most patient transfers between facilities with dedicated transfer units, freeing up ambulances to handle emergency calls.
-Allowing ambulances to be pre-empted from assignments instead of being automatically dispatched when a 911 call is received ensures more ambulances are available for critical patients.
-Developing a strategic provincial service plan for EMS delivery in the province.
In addition, the province will look into conducting a third-party review of Alberta’s EMS dispatch system in February.
Questions, comments or story ideas? e-mail [email protected]
KANSAS CITY MOM’S DEATH HIGHLIGHTS 9-1-1 LOCATION TECHNOLOGY LIMITS (MO)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Questions remain about a 911 call placed nearly 12 hours before a Kansas City woman was found dead and her daughter severely beaten and hospitalized in critical condition with head trauma. Neither police nor prosecutors can confirm to FOX4, but...
JCSO implements’Text-to-911′ for residents (FL)
JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Sometimes it isn’t possible to talk on the phone during an emergency, and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) has now implemented a new program to help with that. For years the only way to contact 911 has been through a phone...
COVID: 911 Calls For Ambulances Has CoCo County Fire Crews (CA)
MARTINEZ (KPIX) — The Omicron surge of sick patients has not only put stress on Contra Costa County hospitals, it’s also impacting ambulances and fire crews in the county. Calls for paramedics keep pouring into the 911 dispatch center. Ambulances at an alarming rate...
Clark County Commission: Federal relief dollars to cover 2022 dispatch center fees (OH)
Calls for service handled by the dispatch center will be charged to their respective agencies: calls that result in a law enforcement officer needing to mitigate an issue. Administrative calls will not result in charges Mike Stitzel, chief of German Twp.’s police...
Dispatcher, a Canadian paramedic, says the pandemic workload is “unsustainable.”
Vancouver-A group representing Canada’s emergency medical institutions is calling for improved mental health services as staff shortages and unprecedented call volumes caused by the pandemic and overdose crisis hit workers. .. In British Columbia, BC Emergency Medical...
California Communications Infrastructure Update: A Look Back at Regulatory Developments in 2021
The following is a high-level summary of the major regulatory developments in these areas in the Golden State in 2021. Enhancing Communications Network Resiliency Wireless Resiliency Plans Filed In late January 2021, California's four facilities-based wireless...
When Seconds Count: Rhode Island Bill Calls For CPR-Trained 911 Operators
In an emergency situation, seconds could make the distinction among existence and death. To assist Rhode Island residents, a neighborhood lawmaker is asking for expanded CPR certifications for the state's 911 operators. Under the invoice, at the least one operator...
Winchester dispatcher named First Responder of the Week (KY)
A Lexington radio station has named a Winchester emergency services employee as its First Responder of the Week. WVLK-FM featured Ashley Reed, one of the city of Winchester’s 911 dispatch supervisors, in a social media post on Friday. “Ashley’s team dispatches for...
Emergency satellite phones installed in Kootenay National Park (Canada)
Parks Canada is helping make Highway 93 a little safer, installing two new emergency satellite phones along the highway in Kootenay National Park. There is currently no cell coverage or WiFi along most of the 105-kilometre stretch of Highway 93 South between Castle...
The Benefits Of Leonardo LMR Systems For Public Safety
LMR Technology For Public Safety As a public safety organization, you need an LMR system that's secure, reliable and ready to go at a moment's notice. At Leonardo, our software-defined solutions can be tailored to meet your needs. One size does not have to fit all. We...
Emergency services staffing still OK (KY)
The omicron surge has caused some issues for regional law enforcement agencies, but it has not caused large disruptions on patrol or fire shifts. Officials from Owensboro and Daviess County law enforcement and fire agencies said last week that the surge has...
Former 911 dispatcher, 73, helps police catch scammers: ‘I usually hang up’ (NY)
A 73-year-old woman from Long Island helped New York police arrest a man who allegedly tried to scam her by posing as a bailiff on Thursday. She previously worked as a 911 dispatcher. Nassau County first contacted the woman, claiming to be her grandson, who said he...
Debt of gratitude owed all medical first responders (MI)
Within minutes after area residents or visitors to our community call Lapeer County 911 Central Dispatch to report a medical emergency, help is on the way. To the individuals, family members or passersby who placed the 911 call it matters little what colors or whose agency name is on the side of the ambulance, fire truck, or first responder units that show up on scene sirens blaring and lights flashing.
What matters most is that help gets there fast when minutes can be the difference between life and death without medical intervention. Maybe it’s a stroke, a heart attack, an opioid overdose, a suicide attempt, a vehicular or farm-implement accident or an industrial mishap at a local manufacturing facility. Whatever the nature of the call, the appropriate and necessary agency response will be quickly assessed by professionals at Central Dispatch as well as by personnel in the field — often including medical first responders from local fire departments in rural communities who often arrive before the ambulance does.
In Lapeer County, we’re fortunate to have an outstanding emergency medical services (EMS) community of professionals, supported by top-notch 911 dispatchers and the staff and services available at McLaren Lapeer Region — a certified Levell II trauma center capable of handling all sorts of major medical emergencies. Collectively as a community, we owe these individuals and agencies a debt of gratitude for choosing to dedicate their lives to help people in medical distress — awe inspiring any day of the week, but even more extraordinary during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In today’s paper (page 4A), we’re proud to report that the Lapeer County Medical Control Authority (MCA) and McLaren Lapeer Region (MLR) recognized and acknowledged all EMS personnel with their distinguished 2021 E. Thomas Stafford EMS Provider of the Year Award. Normally, the honor is bestowed to one deserving EMS provider for their contribution to the EMS system in Lapeer County. For more than 30 years, the Lapeer County MCA and MLR have recognized EMS personnel for the role they play to provide medical care, but this year they determined that due to the impact and challenges COVID-19 has had on their ranks they would recognize all EMS personnel within the MCA service area.
It was a great call, and we congratulate and thank the hundreds of men and women who serve within the far-reaching medical first responder community. The kudos are extended to law enforcement, public health, emergency management and other services that maintain and enhance health and safety to the people who live, work and play in Lapeer County.
We commend township leadership at the board and fire department level in their communities who saw the merits to organize and ask the public to finance medical first responders. The decision, with ongoing citizen and taxpayer support, has undoubtedly saved lives and enhanced the odds of survival for thousands of Lapeer County residents from life-threatening medical emergencies and serious vehicle crashes.
The frontline and first line of care on scene for many residents comes with the arrival of medical first responders associated with fire services in Almont, Burlington Twp., Deerfield Twp., Dryden Twp., Hadley Twp., Marathon Twp., Metamora Twp. and North Branch. Lapeer County is served by EMS personnel who work for Lapeer County EMS, Medstar Ambulance, Marlette EMS, as well as Mayville and Patriot ambulance services.
The work is stressful and time consuming, taking EMS personnel away from their families to undergo continued training and license certification to ensure they’re current on the latest care methods and familiar with new drugs and equipment (technology) that may be called into use should they respond to your home or place of business in the event of an emergency.
To one and all in the Lapeer County EMS and first responder community, thank you. You make a positive difference every day you go to work.
Fort Collins 911 dispatcher helps deliver baby girl (CO)
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — At just a week old, Addalyn Clarken already has quite the story to tell. “Not to be graphic, but she was coming,” her mother Jill Clarken said. “There was no waiting.” It was last Saturday when Jill and her husband John called 911 after realizing...
Jefferson City Police Department looks to new incentive program to fill vacancies (MO)
With personnel shortages at about 20 percent in some areas of the Jefferson City Police Department, city officials -- like many employers today -- are running into hurdles when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees, specifically police officers and...
Detroit 911 Improving Citizen and Community Services with NICE Inform (IL)
Detroit 911 Center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, serving 639,000 city residents within a 143 square mile area, and responding to over a million police, fire and emergency medical calls from the public annually. (Courtesy of the Detroit Fire Department...
Challenges at 911 dispatch centers revive talks of consolidation on the North Coast (OR)
Jan. 21—After more than 20 years of on-and-off discussions about consolidation, Astoria and Seaside are evaluating whether to combine emergency dispatch centers. Sheriff Matt Phillips said the Clatsop County Sheriff's Office has strongly supported the concept for...
AT&T and Verizon Communications reject request from Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Aviation Administration to delay 5G launch in the US
The CEOs of Verizon Wireless and AT&T denied a request to delay a planned rollout of 5G wireless services on January 5. “The question of whether 5G operations can safely coexist with aviation has long been settled,” the executives wrote in a letter on Sunday. ...
Upcoming Webinar
4.9 GHz Band: Review of the FCC Order
On October 22, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) released its Eighth Report and Order (Eighth R&O) regarding utilization of the 4940-4990 MHz (4.9 GHz) band that protects incumbent users as requested by us, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA). This Eighth R&O addresses a number of issues related to the use of this band by public safety. Please join us for a briefing on this order and how it impacts public safety.
This presentation will be led by Chief Jeff Johnson (ret) and Attorney Jason Karp, one of the nation’s leading experts in public safety spectrum regulations.
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