Dispatch in Depth

Alexia Jobson, REMSA Health’s Director of Public Relations, is here to help you prepare for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (April 9–15). Her ideas go beyond food-based appreciation and will open your eyes to other methods to try with your emergency dispatchers, as well as provide ideas to help you fund them. 

For Your Information:

Read Alexia’s article in the Journal of Emergency Dispatch here: https://www.iaedjournal.org/a-quick-start-guide-to-celebrating-our-first-first-responders  

REMSA Health’s website: https://www.remsahealth.com/  

Check REMSA Health out on social media: https://www.facebook.com/remsanv/; https://www.linkedin.com/company/remsa/; https://twitter.com/REMSAHealth; https://www.instagram.com/remsahealth/  

Jaci Fox, quality assurance specialist and the Police Lead with QPR, discusses the best way to handle calls about impaired driving, including why it occurs, whether it includes driving while high, and the importance of updating the location in cases of moving violations. 

For Your Information: 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association’s statistics on impaired driving:  

https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813294  

More information on impaired driving: https://americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/drunk-driving-statistics-in-america    

https://www.autoinsurance.org/deadliest-holidays-to-drive/  

https://www.moneygeek.com/insurance/auto/resources/most-dangerous-dui-days/  

Got a Proposal for Change (PFC)? Let us know: https://www.emergencydispatch.org/what-we-do/proposal-for-change  

Jason Barbour, Public Safety Specialist at Priority Dispatch Corp., discusses the Police Priority Dispatch System CADE Tool. What is it? Who should use it? And what are the benefits of using it? 

Angela Huddle, a member of the IAED’s Police Council of Standards with over 27 years in the 911 industry, discusses some common mistakes she’s seen emergency dispatchers make when handling police calls. 

For Your Information: 

Got a Proposal For Change (PFC) idea? Let us know: https://www.emergencydispatch.org/what-we-do/proposal-for-change 

Super-nerd Kevin Pagenkop talks about the very necessary, very fun Halloween protocols that he created—Protocol 28: Zombies, Protocol 47: Monsters, and Protocol 666: Vampires.  

For Your Information: 

Triage a call from your favorite Halloween movie! Download the Protocols here and send us a recording of your call at dispatchindepth (at) emergencydispatch (dot) org. 

Bonnie Guzman, 911 dispatcher for Hancock County 911 in Hancock, Indiana, and Richard VanOsdol, Sergeant with Hancock County Police Department, recount their successful baby delivery from both sides of the call. 

For Your Information: 

Read more about the call: https://www.greenfieldreporter.com/2022/08/05/special-delivery-911-dispatcher-commended-for-her-role-in-coaching-local-deputy-through-delivering-a-baby/ 

Visit Hancock County 911’s site: https://sheriffweb.hancockcoingov.org/  

Melissa Colon, CTO, Lieutenant, ETC instructor, and Q with Manatee County Emergency Communications Center, and Heather Hedgcock, QA Coordinator, Captain/Supervisor, ETC Instructor, and Q, discuss customer service skills. They outline how to professionally interrupt the caller, give examples of phrases you can use to sound polite and firm, and approach calltakers who lose their patience. 

For Your Information: 

Check out Manatee County Emergency Communication Center’s website: https://www.mymanatee.org/departments/public_safety  

Dr. Paul Bourgeois, PhD, CRC, NCC, and Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Programs at the University of New Haven, discusses his research into emergency dispatcher mental health. He talks about parallels between emergency dispatchers and counselors as well as first steps in improving the mental health climate in your agency. 

For Your Information: 

Dr. Bourgeois’s paper “Stress & Wellbeing in Emergency Dispatchers”: https://www.aedrjournal.org/stress-wellbeing-in-emergency-dispatchers-1  

Jonny McMullan, Performance Improvement Manager with the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, discusses the benefits of mentoring in emergency dispatch, including what makes a good mentor and how to best support trainees.

For your information:

If you have any questions for Jonny, you can reach him at jonny (dot) mcmullan (at) setrust (dot) hscni (dot) net 

Read more about the EMD Mentor program here: https://www.iaedjournal.org/helping-everyone-excel 

https://www.iaedjournal.org/an-emds-best-friend  

Carlynn Page Crampton, FirstWatch Engagement Strategist, discusses how FirstWatch can help your agency make data-driven decisions. 

For Your Information: 

FirstWatch: https://firstwatch.net/  

Academy Analytics: https://prioritydispatch.net/academyanalytics/