March 18, 2021 5:00 PM
by Judith Delgado, Erin Taylor

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency was declared on March 13, 2020.  Once a public health emergency is declared, cities activate an Emergency Operations Center to quickly mobilize staff and resources to best meet the immediate and then ongoing needs of the community throughout the emergency.  For the COVID-19 emergency, staff have been reassigned from their day-to-day duties to critical roles to ensure the City prioritizes the community’s public health and minimizes the risks of COVID-19 exposures at every step.  The team reviews the state, regional, and local situation status daily and pivots their focus regularly based on the highest community needs or new information received from the LA County Department of Public Health or the State of California.   
EOC efforts include proactive and reactive measures to ensure our community prevents as many COVID-19 infections as possible and reopens programs in a safe way.  Examples of EOC outreach include: 

Outreach to residents and businesses to ensure the health order is implemented correctly 
Implementation of a COVID-19 Hotline throughout the pandemic to answer public questions 
Coordination with LA County on food distribution sites 
Creation of a health ambassador program to distribute face coverings and in-person health information, and  
Ongoing collaboration with non-profit and community partners to ensure they have the latest information.   

The work is challenging but meaningful, and while we remain in the midst of hard times, we are now looking toward reopening including vaccination efforts and long-term economic recovery. For a look behind the scenes of the City of Santa Monica Emergency Operations Center and to meet some of our staff who have been supporting the entire community throughout this public health emergency, stay tuned to the City’s Blog all this month as we feature many of our staff who have played an important role throughout the public health emergency continuing with Judy Delgado, COVID-19 Hotline Customer Service.
Judy Delgado, COVID-19 Hotline Customer Service
What is your role in the City of Santa Monica Emergency Operations Center?
During COVID-19, I’m one of the voices you’ll hear on the other line when you call the City regarding either COVID-19 information, resources, and/or need assistance from a department within the city.  Pre-COVID-19, I am a 911 Dispatcher under our Office of Emergency Management and one of the voices you’ll hear on the other line when someone is in need of emergency help for Police, Fire, or EMS.
What is your background, and how have you prepared to take on this role?
I’m a people person. I believe I work my best under stress, hence why I’m normally a 911 dispatcher. Customer service is what I feel has helped me be a helpful resource to the city this past year and over the last six years as a dispatcher. When this all started, people were in panic and confused. This is something that hit everyone hard and fast.
Just like dispatch we don’t ever know what is coming. We stay ready, calm, professional, and determine what the best course of action will be once you evaluate the situation. Here on the hotline team, we’re information gatherers and then we share all the valuable information we received so the appropriate help that’s needed is provided. All this had to be done fast and efficiently. It takes a great team to make that happen, and we have that here in Santa Monica. Like they say, “Team work makes the dream work.”
What is a typical week for you in the Emergency Operations Center? 
We are the front line, very similar to dispatching. We usually are the first to talk to the public either through the phone or through email. People need assistance from someone. We find that someone for them.
We triage calls from almost every department within the city:  Police, Fire, Code Enforcement, Parking, City Attorney, City Manager, City Clerk, Housing, Building & Safety, Planning, Resource & Recycling, Community Services, the Library, Rent Control, Big Blue Bus, etc. We also guide people through information, resources for businesses, county testing and vaccine sites for appointments, rental assistance as well as information regarding the eviction moratorium. Many inquiries also come through email that we respond to and or forward to the appropriate departments for particular assistance and most up to date and accurate information.
What’s it like to play this critical role for over a year?
I’ll be honest. It was a huge challenge for me. Prior to COVID-19, I was ill and going through all doctors appointments, medications, work, family, etc. and then the pandemic hitting head on was nothing easy to handle. We had to step up even if that meant working for the first time remotely. It was all about multi-tasking.
I recently lost my brother to COVID-19. Dealing with that has been the biggest challenge yet. Some days have been harder than others especially while working and talking to people, but I always go back to my role as a 911 dispatcher. No matter how bad our days are people are depending on us to do our job.  Especially during these times with the information changing daily, even at times 2-3 times a day. Every state, county and city needs someone, a team that can relay this information to the public and be available to answer their questions.
I find it very rewarding talking to the public and even at times sharing my own experience to better educate the public during these times and know that we empathize with peoples struggles and experiences. We are human just like them and are trying our best. Maintaining that professionalism and good customer service at all times is what makes everything go smoother. All people need and want guidance and some security that the ones up top know what they are doing.
Why do you do this work? 
Because I love what I do. I became a dispatcher to help people. I always told myself that if my family were to call 911, I would want someone to answer the phone who was professional, empathetic, helpful and truly listened. Every day I work hard—here in the hotline and for when I go back to my normal role—to be the best that I can be. The common denominator doesn’t change:  people. I may not be doing the same thing that I was doing right now, but my skills are the same.
What has been the most surprising?
I feel this whole experience has been an eye opener. How everyone responds and communicates during an emergency can either make or break a community. Preparation is key and how fast people adapt and cooperate. I realized that many people choose email as a form of communication. The Santa Monica City website has been such a helpful tool to let people know that no matter what their concerns are, they are heard. People really responded well with use of those tools and technology.
What has been the most challenging?
Everyone no matter your race, gender, occupation or age felt the panic of this Pandemic. Finding the way to calm the public during times with no answers was difficult. At times it was a waiting game. People want answers, guidance and comfort. We wanted to provide that to the public. A year later we still talk to people that have only left their home a handful of times, have no internet or form of transportation. Although we get calls coming through you still take a bit more time with those that need just someone to talk to. Sometimes a conversation starts off a bit escalated, you get yelled at, you feel the frustration, then you start talking, you share a laugh and maybe even a cry. The other person on the line feels heard and you say goodbye. It’s not personal. We are all going through it. It’s all about communication.
What has been the most heartwarming? 
People who truly appreciate that you are a live person that they can talk to. When they thank you for taking the time to actually talk to them.
Are there any fun facts about Santa Monica’s EOC?
The Santa Monica Hotline team has answered 7,824 calls and 3,987 emails throughout the emergency.
What do you want the public to know right now?
The media doesn’t show every single experience or detail of what is happening. Like I share with people on the phone all the time:  this is something that has made history. It has definitely changed my life forever with losing my baby brother at a young age of 27 years old. Super healthy and full of energy. This year has been frustrating, sad, confusing and at times full of panic. This isn’t over and is very much real. Working together as a community is so important. Patience is important.
We must learn to work together. I have spoken with many, many people, thousands to be exact ranging from every possible emotion you can think of. All have had one thing in common:  fear. Fear of getting sick, fear of losing something, fear of the unknown. Please take this seriously is all I ask and know that you are not alone.
I know that may not sound the most “positive” but it is real. I come from a background of nothing short of being real. I invite anyone into a 911 call center and see if there’s anything short of being real real. But that’s why we do what we do, we are the calm I midst of the chaos.
Please continue to social distance, wear your facial covering, get some fresh air, exercise and keep your mental health strong and positive. We will get through it. 
How do you stay rested and engaged during such a long and dynamic public health emergency?
Family for me has been everything. I do also have a healthy and balanced diet. Tons of vitamin C! Exercise and nature is what keeps me grounded. All of this can be done responsibly. Thank God I have been able to maintain myself COVID-19 free all while still enjoying the simple pleasures of life.
Thank you, Judy, for sharing your story and amazing talents over the past year to keep the community safe and supported during this time! 

The Lafayette Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness has moved out of the basement at the courthouse, and into a new facility on West Willow Street.

Director Craig Stansbury says the $9.7 million emergency center comes with better technology to provide better efficiency in responding to calls. Stansbury says supporting the employees is a top priority.

“Make their job better. When someone calls into 911, we can be more efficient, help the individual, to get the response they need,” said Stansbury.

The upgrades allow 911 dispatch and the emergency operations center to see what’s happening when an emergency call comes in. If you call 911, and you give permission, the dispatcher can take control of your camera and audio on your cell phone, to give them a better understanding of what’s happening.

“We can send you a text. If you approve, the video and audio on your phone is activated. 911 actually sees that. Instead of telling us what’s going on, you can show us what’s going on,” said Stansbury.

He says getting a pinpoint location on an emergency call is also critical. 911 will soon be able to tap into video cameras accessible to the public in the parish, to see the true location, and send the right manpower. Private businesses can also sign up for it.

“It could be a convenience store, a bank. They could be calling in a disturbance or an armed robbery. Immediately once the address is put in, if there’s a camera at that location, the IP address has been given to us, it will automatically pop up.”

Stansbury says the center is completely paid for, after several years of saving to pay for it by previous 911 administrations.

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Emergency 911 dispatchers in Bristol and Washington County in Southwest Virginia can now receive text messages from citizens who have an emergency and can’t make a regular call.The Bristol Virginia Police Department and Washington County Central Dispatch have begun accepting text-to-911 service for their territories.“We completed install in July,” said Bristol Police Capt. Darryl Milligan.Since last summer, Bristol has been working through technical issues to make sure it’s working properly and conducting dispatcher training, Milligan said.In addition, he said that because Bristol has a shared 911 service with Washington County, the two had to coordinate going active.“We are compliant,” said Donna Hall, Washington County’s 911 director.Washington County has received a few text messages, but they were not true emergencies, Hall said.Milligan said text to 911 should only be used in an emergency when placing a call is not possible. For instance, if the caller is deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired, or when speaking aloud would put the caller in danger, a text message can be used.If there is an emergency and a call is not possible, Milligan said people should not text and drive. In the first text message, send the location and type of emergency. Text in simple words, but don’t abbreviate or use slang, which dispatchers may not understand.Also, be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the dispatcher.Photos and videos cannot be sent to 911 dispatchers.Texting to 911 is not available everywhere, although most jurisdictions in Southwest Virginia are compliant, according to data from the Federal Communications Commission.Residents in Northeast Tennessee, including Bristol, Tennessee and Sullivan County, are still not able to text to 911.If a person texts to a 911 office that does not have such capabilities, the Federal Communications Commission requires that the cellphone provider send a “bounce back” message.On Wednesday, Verizon Wireless said in a text sent from Northeast Tennessee, “Please make a voice call to 911. There is no text service to 911 available at this time.”rsorrell@bristolnews.com

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With a deadline fast approaching, several Northern Michigan communities have passed resolutions opposing new federal rules that may restrict how 911 surcharge fees are allocated locally.More may soon follow.The Federal Communications Commission introduced the proposed rules last month, though its members began working on the policy changes October. Its intent is to prevent “911 surcharge fee diversion” For some area residents, the proposal could impact how the Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet Central Dispatch Authority — which fields 911 calls in those three counties — uses the money it collects on your phone bills.

Federal officials say the policy would actually protect local 911 centers’ funds, but Pamela Woodbury, Central Dispatch director, said it would also have negative, unintended consequences. She’s asking local boards to pass resolutions opposing the rules before the end of the FCC’s comment period Tuesday.Petoskey City Council members unanimously approved the resolution in a swift vote Monday, and Emmet County commissioners are slated to review a resolution of their own at a meeting 6 p.m. Thursday, meeting ID 846 2017 7587, passcode 396272. As of Wednesday, Woodbury said other groups that passed similar resolutions include Cheboygan County commissioners, Boyne City commissioners, Harbor Springs council members andLittle Traverse Township trustees.FCC officials say funds from surcharge fees too often get diverted to non-911 related purposes, requiring stricter regulations.“We know the results of 911 fee diversion can be tragic,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, acting FCC chairwoman, in a public statement in February. “It can lead to understaffed calling centers, longer wait times in an emergency, and sluggish dispatch for public safety personnel. And it can slow the ability of 911 call centers to update their systems to support digital age technologies.”A major part of the new rules that, practically speaking, would mean the dispatch center could only use its surcharge fee money for expenses within its own building.

But Michigan laws differ from the new FCC regulations, districts to use those fees to fund items like mobile data computers, radios and radio infrastructure — tools necessary to connect all of the moving pieces of the local emergency response system.“These systems are critical in allowing information sharing between 911 and first responders,” said Woodbury, Central Dispatch Authority director, in a statement she provided.Communities in other parts of Michigan, including Monroe, Marquette and Dickinson, have also opposed the rules.When asked about the resolution, John Wallace, Cheboygan County commission chair, expressed concerns over federal overreach.“It’s bad enough the state’s always trying to recapture money from local units of government, but now the feds are trying to do it,” he said. “The feds are trying to round out their budget by capturing that minuscule amount of money from all the local 911 jurisdictions. It’s as simple as that.”That isn’t the case. The FCC rule identified in local resolutions, including Cheboygan County’s, does not in fact call for a reduction in the amount of money a 911 center may collect from phone bills, nor does it divert more money into federal coffers. In fact, Woodbury has said that she supports the intent of the fee diversion policy, but she has concerns over the section which would prevent community-wide purchases like new radios, mobile computers and paging devices.“Our center supplies a lot of that (equipment) for all the different departments, so we’re opposed to anybody putting their hand in that bucket,” Wallace said.The recent switch to new radio systems would not be affected, because those are funded through millages approved in each of the three counties.

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Owensboro-Daviess County 911 Dispatch is preparing to dispatch calls for the Daviess County Public Schools Police Department.On Tuesday night, Owensboro city commissioners approved an agreement allowing the school district’s police departments access to the 911 operations and radio system. Daviess Fiscal Court also has to approve the agreement, but 911 center Director Paul Nave said a goal is to have the 911 center ready to begin transmitting messages to school officers on or before Fiscal Court is scheduled to approve the agreement.Damon Fleming, DCPS’ director of student services, said the agreement is a benefit because it is less expensive than the district setting up its own dispatch center. The agreement calls for DCPS to pay 1% of the cost of operating the dispatch center, or a percentage of the cost based on the number of calls produced by the school district. The city and county currently pay for the dispatch center, with each paying a portion based on their call volume.“I don’t know if they’ll ever reach a threshold of 1%,” Nave said.Fleming said the school district budgeted for paying to use the dispatch center when making a budget for the police department.“It’s something we had discussed (and) had set aside in the budget for that,” he said.“Our cost for doing this is small compared to what the city and county are paying,” Fleming said.Nave said the 911 center will dispatch all call types to DCPS officers. “It may not be 911,” Nave said. “If there’s a hit and run in the parking lot that comes into the center” and is still considered a law enforcement call, Nave said.

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Having the calls go through dispatch will prevent dispatchers from taking calls from schools and then trying to call the DCPS central office so they can dispatch an officer, Nave said.“This is just a cleaner and more efficient way to get a person help,” he said.Fleming said a person visiting a school who needs law enforcement might not know there’s an officer at the school to contact. Fleming said going through dispatch will also give the district contact with fire and emergency medical crews.The system will also allow DCPS officers to talk to dispatch and to other officers or responders coming to an incident, Fleming said.“If another agency is responding, it gives us a chance to (provide) information to them, or receive information from them,” Fleming said. “… If we need a backup officer, our officer would be able to talk to dispatch and the other responding officers.”In an actual 911 emergency, other agencies will also respond to the schools, Fleming said.“If it’s a true 911, any officer close by will still respond,” he said.

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When a 911 call comes into the Perkins County Communications Center, dispatchers can now pinpoint where a call comes from.Recent upgrades to the center’s new 911 system, which went online in December 2020, have added mapping capabilities to aid dispatchers on which county emergency units to send.
Perkins County Sheriff Jim Brueggeman said the most recent upgrade adds satellite imagery to the mapping software. 
The upgrade also overlays the boundary lines for the county’s  fire districts and EMS units on the mapping. 
So when a 911 land line call is made to the dispatch center, the system gives the address of where the call was made. 
On a cell phone call, the software uses the cell tower location sending the call. That information is then used to pinpoint the location or address the call came from. 
If the call is from a remote rural area, say for instance a corn field, the system also provides the latitude and longitude of the call to help locate the caller. 
Having fire and EMS districts clearly outlined on the maps allows dispatchers to use a single mouse click to page the appropriate emergency units. 
Brueggeman said they summon all departments for car accidents, structure fires, grass fires and ambulance calls. So with one click, all departments can be paged at once. 
In addition to the mapping, the phone number, the number that person’s assigned to, the address and other pertinent information is also displayed. 
If the caller has previously notified the dispatch center of any health or special conditions or needs, that information is also displayed. 
During the interview for this story, a 911 call was placed with a cell phone. 
As soon as the call same in, the map showed which cell tower the call was coming from. Moments later, it pulled up the address of the courthouse as the location for the call.
Presently, cell calls made on the Viaero network go to the Keith County dispatch center and are then transferred to Perkins County. Brueggeman said sometime in the next four months, Viaero will be directing their local calls to the Perkins County center.
He said it’s not unusual for dispatch to take a 911 call where the caller has hung up, realizing they called 911 by mistake. 
Using caller ID provided by the system, they call the number back. That way they can determine is the call was a mistake or if someone is indeed in need of help.
Brueggeman said cell phone users can also text 911 as well.  Texts can then be exchanged to determine if an emergency exists. 
The system also has the capability to determine if the caller needs teletype relay due to hearing issues.
Technology continues to improve the center, Brueggeman said. 
He remembers when they used a pen and paper and typewriters to take down information. 
How times have changed for the better. 

FAIRFIELD — A firm has been selected to create the emergency communications center for Fairfield and Westport and the lease with Sacred Heart University to house it there has been amended, moving the project closer to reality.
Foley said they held a scope review meeting with that firm and the second lowest bidder, RFG Associates, out of Trumbull.

“Out of our scope review meeting, everyone was in consensus that that was the firm to go with,” he said at a recent Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

by Doug Berger A recent grant will allow for the location of 911 callers in Douglas County to be immediately determined. The grant will also allow for text-to-911 in a four county area including Douglas County. The Missouri 911 Service Board recently informed Wri-Comm 911 that a grant award of $770, 200 from its assistance program will benefit 911 coverage in Wright, Howell, Ozark and Douglas counties. Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase and Douglas County Assessor Alicia Degase had been working with Wri-Comm Director Jeff Holman and Howell County 911 on the grant request from the Missouri 911 Service Board. The grant was applied for in the fall of 2020. The grant funding will allow for 911 calls from Douglas County to come directly to the Douglas County Sheriff’s office after 911 answering equipment is installed. When fully operational it will give the sheriff’s office the location of the caller. The grant will also allow for text-to-911 services for all four counties. “With the location popping up on the screen I think things will run smoother and faster,” Sheriff Chris Degase stated. Douglas County has no tax supported 911 equipped answering center in the county. All adjacent counties have 911 answering centers. “If you call 911 today it may go into the nearest 911 center. It may go to Wright County, it may go to Taney County, depending on where they are at. Sometimes if you dial 911 you will actually ring into the sheriff’s office, don’t ask me how that happens, but sometimes you will. But all we get is the person on the other end of the line. We don’t get a location from them. We don’t have that equipment. So they’re on the phone and we have to say Douglas County Sheriff’s office and ask is this an emergency and where are you located. So they have to provide us directions or they have to be able to provide us that physical location that’s on their tax bill. If they can give the physical location we can tie into the data base from county assessor for the location. We can also find by name of property owner,” Sheriff Degase explained. Douglas County Assessor Alicia Degase began working on the 911 project over five years ago and began assigning physical locations to property and this is the physical location that is found on the tax bill. “The  mapping system has been a huge tool that we’ve used over and over. Cox (ambulance service) has access to it and is able to access for ambulances,” Degase stated. “When I took office there was nothing. All there was were rural routes, which anybody in Douglas County knows doesn’t mean we will get to where you live. You may have a rural route which takes you to a mail box in the middle of a county road with 15 other mailboxes. So in 2014 the assessor, Alicia Degase, worked with her mapping company, worked with Cox and she developed a physical location through her GIS. So essentially what happened was that properties began being assigned a physical location. She shared the mapping system with us and shared the mapping system with Cox. That physical location is on your tax statement and it’s laid out to meet 911 requirements. She only assigned physical locations on properties that had buildings on them. If you have 40 acres out there without a building, it wouldn’t have a physical location on it,” Sheriff Degase said. Degase added that the locations for some private drives will need to be addressed to be 911 compliant. He indicated a grant will be applied for in April to help address this problem. Along with the immediate location of the 911 caller, the text-to-911 will also be important in the county, Degase stated. “When that call comes in it’s going to pop up a GPS location and we find out where that person is, that’s huge, and in the same way the text-to-911, when text comes in it shows me a location,” he stated. Holman explained the text-to-911 can be beneficially in numerous situations. He pointed out it could be used by someone with a medical condition which did not allow them to talk, a domestic situation where a person did not want to talk, or a law enforcement situation such as a home break-in in progress where the caller also did not want to talk. Degase stated he could see a number of other situations when the text-to-911 could prove beneficial. Degase does not anticipate needing any additional dispatching staff when the new equipment is installed. Currently there is at least one dispatcher and jailer available for dispatching at all times. The jail staff is cross trained at dispatching. “I really don’t foresee an increased call volume, particularly if the city of Ava keeps their dispatch,” Degase said. The sheriff’s department currently dispatches for all fire departments in the county other than the city of Ava.  “We don’t dispatch anything for the city of Ava right now. They have their own dispatchers,” Degase stated. “With the new system, since sheriff’s department is 911 call recipient, we will have to talk with city representatives about how best to dispatch city police and fire, whether it will stay with city or be dispatched from 911 call center in sheriff’s office,” he said. “We will work with the mayor, and we’ll work with Chief Overcast, who I think will be taking over in June. We’ll work with them to find out how they want to do it, if we get the 911 call here. How and at what point they want us to transfer the call to the city of Ava. Our plan is to work closely with the city to figure out what is best for everybody. I assume it will be similar with Ava Fire Department,” Degase added. Degase pointed out that Ava Mayor Burrely Loftin has already sat in on some of the meetings, and Degase feels there will be a good working relationship on implementing the 911 system. “We will send all dispatchers to 911 dispatcher training, and they will be 911 dispatcher certified,” the sheriff explained.  The cost of the dispatcher training is part of the grant received. The sheriff also anticipates medical calls would continue to be transferred to Cox. He said he doesn’t anticipate sheriff’s department dispatchers doing much medical communication with callers even though they will have been trained. Degase explained if a medical call comes in to the sheriff’s office it is transferred to Cox after the sheriff’s department gets initial information and figures out where they are before transfering to Cox. “You can only imagine somebody in Douglas County trying to explain to somebody in Springfield where they are. We get the information before we transfer to Cox, because we’re still responsible for toning out first responders and everything to assist Cox,” Degase said. “I feel we will still transfer to Cox. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk with Cox, because this is relatively new. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk with Steve Woods are anybody from Cox. I will anticipate that they will still do their own toning out,” the sheriff stated. Degase pointed out that along with covering equipment cost, the grant would cover the monthly fiber costs for five years, and that he had to have fiber in the sheriff’s office anyway. The sheriff indicated that in discussions with Jeff Holman it was thought that significant progress on the installation of the system could be made by summer. Degase indicated that they have to have equipment compatible with the 911 call center in Wright County. Degase felt the full development of physical location mapping would take longer. The sheriff feels the new information available to the sheriff’s office will be of major benefit. “I was raised here. People can tell me-Y second slab, and areas in Douglas County and I know them. I know how to get there. I think one of the biggest problems is bringing in somebody new as a deputy or dispatcher who doesn’t know the county. It’s tough to do that because when people call into the office they still refer to things as the old Heriford place or old Johnson place, and my office staff and new people don’t know those areas. They call me and ask where is the old Heriford place and I can tell them. So I think that’s been one of the biggest obstacles. It’s frustrating when you get that 911 call and you get half the information and then they lose service or you lose the call, and here you are trying to piece together where they’re at. The new system is going to automatically pop up their GPS location,” Degase said. Degase said he thought there were 16 counties in Missouri without a formal 911 service. “These are the services that save lives,” said Mike Phillips ENP, president of the Missouri 911 Directors Association. “It’s been 20 years since we’ve seen any of these 16 Missouri counties move up in their service levels.”

Editor’s note: New Beginnings is our annual update on progress in the fields of business, health and education. We invite you to follow along with the news of the day in 2021 through our print and digital outlets: The printed edition of the Jacksonville Progress, our homepage at www.jacksonvilleprogress.com and our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JacksonvilleProgress./From conception to construction, the building of the Jacksonville Public Safety Complex remains on schedule for completion in July 2021.The complex is being constructed on city-owned property at the corner of South Bolton and Devereaux Streets. The approximately 28,000 square-foot facility will be home to the city’s fire and police departments, dispatch and the emergency operations center which can double as a training space.

“Having all the entities underneath one building will give us operational improvements,” City Manager Greg Smith said during the early stages of the development.“Our dispatch for police, fire and EMS in the same building with both responding agencies will create operational improvements instead of them being in a different building. The addition of the emergency operation center is something the city doesn’t have and will assist us if we ever get into a situation. That large room will also be a large training room that can be used for joint training between police and fire as well, as individual departmental needs for police and fire, and will offer the city the ability to host regional training classes for police, fire and emergency responders in a setting that is conductive to those type of classes.”City council approved a contract with Quorum Architects for the design of the complex in September, 2019, setting the project in motion. Once design was complete, construction was expected to take from 12 to 14 months, with anticipated completion in the summer of 2021.

Recently, 17 Sheriff’s Office dispatchers learned about the country’s best strategies for handling 911 callers who are at risk of suicide or other mental illness crisis.

Volusia County 911 Operators Trained to Become more Aware of Mental Health

The training was a priority for Sheriff Mike Chitwood, who sat in on portions of the class and has additional sessions scheduled for the future. The state-of-the-art course, called Emergency Mental Health Dispatching (EMHD), is geared toward helping 911 telecommunicators boost their confidence to help better diffuse crisis situations and keep first responders safer in the field, Communications Director Jim Soukup said. “When you train people to that level, it just helps everybody.”

Within the next few months, all dispatchers will receive this intensive training – about 135 people. In addition, a yearly refresher course will be offered. Jim Marshall, co-founder and director of the 911 Training Institute in Michigan, taught the three-day course at the Communications Center on Tiger Bay Road in Daytona Beach. Marshall is a longtime mental health professional who combines the science of psychology with the role of the 911 dispatcher in his training.

The course helps dispatchers understand more about mental illness and factors that drive suicide. And, it includes teaching dispatchers strategies to excel at the job, decrease anxiety and promote good health.

When asked how they benefited from the class, students said they became more aware of underlying issues callers might be experiencing – physically or mentally. A caller might sound intoxicated on the phone, but actually might be experiencing a stroke or diabetic issue, for example.

Oakland County’s new public safety radio system will be fully functional by the end of 2022 following $61 million worth of repairs and upgrades. OAKWIN, the county’s 911 radio system established in 2002, is used by virtually every community in the county, and some outside of the county, to ensure all emergency calls received by dispatch centers are relayed to the proper authorities. The system, which is run by the county on behalf of local police, fire, and EMS is utilizing 19-year-old equipment that’s worn out and past its lifecycle with many of the replacement parts being out of production.  The upgraded system will include new portable and in-vehicle radio consoles, which are of highest priority and key components of a 911 dispatch center, as well as repairs and upgrades to 31 towers, which are nearing completion. Over 3,500 portable radios and 2,000 mobile radios will be replaced across the county with most used by police departments, fire departments and local governments.

One of the most notable upgrades, that was not included in the initial plans, includes the addition of an emergency activation button to portable and in-vehicle radios, at a cost of $1.9 million, which will send an alert along with a GPS signal back to dispatch centers to immediately map their location. When activated, first responder locations will be displayed in all 19 county dispatch centers using GIS mapped technology.

Sheriff’s office could offer annual compensation incentive to employees with college degreesOakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the new radio system, which will be integrated into the Michigan Public Safety Communications System, will benefit the entire county. That integration will improve interoperability with the county’s neighboring counties and state agencies. “This advanced network uses GPS satellite technology to locate first responders during an emergency,” he said. “Before, if an emergency button was actuated, it would not give us a precise location for that first responder, which cost us valuable time and perhaps even a life. With this upgrade, we can pinpoint the location which allows us to better serve the public while protecting our first responders.” All of the new mobile and portable radios will be equipped with GPS capability and software to support this feature.

Oakland County is investing millions of tax dollars to improve its public safety radio communication system to ensure residents won’t experien…

For the past four years, the county has been working towards overhauling the outdated system, which includes a nearly $50 million contract with Motorola Solutions to implement the $61 million in total system upgrades. The project will be paid off with a mixture of building authority bonds ($18.5 million), 911 surcharge revenue, and general fund dollars ($4.5 million).  Beginning summer 2022, and lasting for up six months, all police, fire, EMS and other users will be moved over into the new new Motorola P25 radio system.Oakland County Executive David Coulter said the emergency activation buttons are an important “live-saving” feature. 

(Clarinda) — Page County officials have approved a contract to add features to the county’s dispatch operations.Meeting in regular session Tuesday, the Page County Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with Zetron and the State of Iowa for shared 911 services. County Emergency Management Coordinator Kris Grebert says the agreement allows the county to add a number of programs to its 911 dispatch center and costs less than what the county is spending now.”This will add services to the county by giving us emergency medical dispatch, the pre-911 answer mapping, the CAD mapping to all the officers’ mobile cars that have the computers in them, which is stuff we don’t have now,” said Grebert. “It will be a cost savings to us. It saves a little bit the first three years, but after that, it’s going to be a big cost savings for the 911 shared service board.”Perhaps the largest component of the shared system is the addition of an emergency medical dispatch program for Page County. Grebert says EMD allows dispatchers to give instructions during medical emergencies prior to first responders arriving on scene.

“If somebody is having a heart attack, we can help start with CPR,” said Grebert. “Montgomery County just delivered a baby over this EMD services that they have up there just recently. The dispatcher can start helping give care to the caller prior to anybody arriving.”The new system comes with an annual cost savings to the county of around $25,000 from the E-911 budget after an initial cost to upgrade hardware and software systems to be compatible. After making implementation payments for the first three years, the county will see the savings for the services. Grebert says he is hoping to use some of the money that he saves from the agreement to upgrade the radio dispatch consoles, which are beginning to age.”We’re currently using the AVTEC’s that we purchased back in 2015,” said Grebert. “We didn’t upgrade those when we did the radio system because they were still new enough. We would like to — in the next three-to-five years — upgrade those. Those are going to be a hefty price. We’re looking at — if we did it right now — $300,000 for the three consoles, or $100,000 apiece. But in the next two or three years, I’m sure that’s going to go up too.”Grebert says he is hoping Zetron officials are able to install the initial software within the next 60 days and will allow the county to delay the first payment until July 1st when the next fiscal year starts.

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