Dispatch in Depth

Mads Matthews-Williams (they/them), former emergency dispatcher, mentor, and quality auditor for the Welsh Ambulance Service, discusses how to handle LGBTQ issues in emergency dispatch, especially for transgender and nonbinary callers.

For Your Information:

Read the results of the 2018 Stonewall study of LGBTQ people in the United Kingdom: https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/lgbt_in_britain_-_trans_report_final.pdf

IAED Journal FAQ about medical calls from transgender patients: https://iaedjournal.org/newborn-resuscitation/

Kerri Hatt, editor-in-chief of EMS 1, and Anthony Minge, Senior Partner with Fitch & Associates, discuss the 2021 EMS Trend Report, including what insights and markers have changed since the 2020 report and which ones haven't. 

For Your Information: 

Read the 2021 EMS Trend Report: https://www.ems1.com/ems-trend-report/articles/2021-ems-trend-report-redefining-adaptability-resilience-and-growth-oVegtj8AqbFuI7Hc/  

EMS1: https://www.ems1.com/ 

Fitch & Associates: https://www.fitchassoc.com/ 

Listen to the analysis of the 2020 report: https://www.aedrjournal.org/youve-got-a-trend-in-me-with-kerri-hatt-and-anthony-minge  

Melissa Alterio, Director of Emergency Communications at Cobb County 911, discusses her paper “Peer Support Programs – Mitigating the Emotional Effects of Vicarious Trauma Experienced by 911 Dispatchers.” She talks about the methods for writing it and the takeaways for emergency dispatchers. 

 

For Your Information: 

Read Melissa’s paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343403733_Peer_Support_Programs-_Mitigating_the_Emotional_Effects_of_Vicarious_Trauma_Experienced_by_911_Dispatchers  

Follow Cobb County: https://www.facebook.com/joincobb911 

Listen to Captain Kevin Haight talk about the importance of reclassifying emergency dispatchers: https://www.aedrjournal.org/shaking-up-the-status-quo-with-captain-kevin-haight  

Learn more about the potential impact of incident related imagery by reading Jeremy DeMar’s paper: https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/52972  

Read Adam Timm’s book about leadership: http://www.thehealthydispatcher.com/people-driven-leadership/  

Cait Welch, Quality Assurance Officer and Coordinator at Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, discusses how to cope with working in an understaffed center, including ways to approach recruiting, retention, and positivity.  

 

For Your Information: 

Learn more about Manatee County Sheriff’s Office: https://www.manateesheriff.com/ 

Contribute to a fund for one of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office employees who has lost her husband: https://www.gofundme.com/f/atwuhd-help-jordan-take-care-of-her-family?qid=ff70932e0121965c112e0ca4a6968809  

Kim Ridgen, Associate Director of Accreditation for the IAED, discusses barriers and drivers of success dispatch agencies face when they are trying to become accredited centers of excellence (ACEs), including agency culture, timeline for the achievement, and protocol compliance. 

For Your Information: 

Read the paper (or just the abstract) here: https://aedrjournal.org/for-us-its-the-only-way-characteristics-of-ace-achievement-and-barriers-to-success/  

Alexia Jobson and Adam Heinz from the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA Health) in Reno, Nevada, discuss some PR basics for your dispatch agency, including social media tips and ways to improve your relationship with the media.

For Your Information:

Find out more about REMSA Health here: https://www.remsahealth.com/

Ricardo Martinez II, host and creator of the Within The Trenches podcast, discusses how Within the Trenches got started, how it’s grown since then, and what it means to emergency dispatchers to have a platform where they can share their stories and connect with their colleagues across continents.

For Your Information:

Listen to Within the Trenches here (or wherever you get your podcasts): https://www.withinthetrenches.net/podcast

Amanda Lindgren and Ben Bills with the El Paso-Teller 9-1-1 Authority discuss their agency’s outreach program, including opt-in phone alerts for residents, a 28-foot mobile classroom, and a podcast of their own. 

 

For Your Information: 

El Paso-Teller 9-1-1 Authority’s official website: http://elpasoteller911.org/ 

Listen to El Paso-Teller's podcast 9-1-1 Weight in Gold: https://elpasoteller911.org/321/Podcast  

National Public Safety Educator Forum’s website: https://www.911npef.org/ 

Watch some of NPEF’s PSAs: https://www.youtube.com/user/911NPEF  

Lori Henricksen, director of the emergency telecommunications program for high schoolers at the Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy in Las Vegas (Nevada), discusses the creation of her program and the challenges it presents, as well as the benefits of training teenagers for careers in first response.  For Your Information: Lori will be speaking at NAVIGATOR 2021! Check out her session “From High School to High Stress: One High School is Training the First Responders of the Future” on Wednesday, July 14 at 9:00 a.m. (PST)Check out the Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy’s website: vtcta.org   Got a question for Lori? Email her at: henrile1 (at) nv (dot) ccsd (dot) net 

Lavonne C. Hall, president and CEO, and Mark Corum, director of media services, discuss the history of Hall Ambulance Service. Hall Ambulance is based in Bakersfield, California, and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. They talk about how it started and the milestones it’s achieved along the way. For Your Information: Learn more about Hall Ambulance Service on their website: https://hallamb.com/ Facebook: @hallambulanceservice Instagram: @hallambulance Twitter: @hallambulance