May 6, 2005

County Communications awarded second Center of Excellence designation

By Santa Clara County Supervisor Pete McHugh
Special to the Times

Santa Clara County places a high priority on its emergency dispatch services and operates its own emergency dispatch center, County Communications, to respond quickly to terrorist acts and other public safety threats.

This dispatch center provides a vital link between residents and numerous public safety services. In April 2005, the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED) again designated County Communications as a Center of Excellence in providing emergency medical dispatch services. The county, which first received this designation in 2002, must seek its renewal every three years.

Since NAED was created in 1988, it has served as the standard-setting authority for the field of emergency dispatch.

Only 71 out of the more than 2,300 emergency communications centers worldwide have met NAED’s “Center of Excellence” requirements. County Communications is one of only eight centers in California that has achieved this designation.

For NAED to award this designation, agencies must fulfill its 20 stringent requirements. Agencies must comply with Medical Priority Dispatch System protocols and all dispatch personnel must have current Emergency Medical Dispatching certification.

NAED also requires agencies to have proper system oversight and a thorough quality assurance and improvement program. Furthermore, agencies must achieve case evaluation compliance scores that meet or exceed NAED’s standards for “Center of Excellence” certification.

Many dispatch operations typically specialize in one type of dispatching service. County Communications provides a full range of dispatching services from a single facility. These services include law enforcement, medical transport and fire dispatching support.

Additionally, most of the county’s highly trained dispatch staff are proficient in each of the dispatch areas. This cross-training enhances operational efficiencies during incidents that require response from more than one service provider.

More than 60 public agencies use County Communications’ dispatching services. The major service providers include the Sheriff’s Office, County Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services. The dispatch center also provides enhanced 9-1-1 emergency telephone answering services to residents of Campbell, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and Gilroy.

The enhanced emergency telephone system automatically routes 9-1-1 calls through a network and provides dispatchers with the caller’s telephone number and location. It also alerts the appropriate law enforcement, medical transport and/or fire service providers to allow for the quickest possible response time.

As the first point of contact for many county residents who dial 9-1-1, County Communications dispatch staff plays a critical role in saving lives daily. When an emergency call is received, the dispatcher must quickly evaluate the caller’s situation and dispatch the appropriate emergency response.

From the time a dispatcher receives an emergency call to the arrival of medical personnel on the scene, each minute can be crucial. In 2004, County Communications handled 48,000 medical emergency calls. For 90 percent of those calls, it dispatched an ambulance within 40 seconds.

No matter how quickly County Communications dispatches emergency medical responders, callers still need help while waiting for paramedics to arrive. For this reason, the county instituted the EMD system, which allows dispatchers to provide emergency medical instructions to callers.

Most of the county’s emergency dispatchers receive special training to give instructions for first aid, emergency childbirth, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and a variety of other potentially life-saving medical procedures. While giving a caller directions for emergency medical care, the dispatcher simultaneously provides updated information to responding emergency crews.

Since County Communications first earned the “Center of Excellence” designation in 2002, it has continued to meet NAED’s “best practice” standards for emergency medical dispatching. I personally am proud to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of our dispatch staff in once again making County Communications a Center of Excellence.

These dispatchers play an indispensable role in helping responders from law enforcement, medical and fire agencies to save lives. The county will strive to maintain the highest possible quality of emergency dispatch services and continually improve them.