ACE is the PLACE
The Daily Commercial, Mt. Dora, Fla.—Lake Emergency Medical Services’ Communications Center has been reaccredited by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED), and is on track to meet its goal of receiving fire dispatch accreditation by the end of 2012. ”Our Communications Center team, led by Communications Training Officer Tina Winkler, has worked continuously to maintain our accreditation which was first received in February 2009,” said Kimberly Stephens, chief communications officer. “It takes the entire team to live up to all of the international practice standards for Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) on a day-to-day basis.” In addition to providing EMD for all Lake County communities, the Lake EMS Communications Center dispatchers fire calls for The Villages Public Safety Department, Lake County Fire Rescue and all municipal fire departments in the county.
Saginaw, Mich. — Ambulance service in Saginaw County is surpassing goals and poised to get even better, says Mark Thompson, the president of Saginaw-based Mobil Medical Response. MMR submitted it’s tri-annual performance report to the Saginaw County Board of Commissioners Wednesday. During the last four months of last year, MMR data shows ambulances arrived to emergency calls originating from Saginaw and its bordering suburbs within 8 minutes and 59 seconds 90.3 percent of the time. MMR arrived to rural calls in fewer than 12 minutes and 59 seconds 85.3 percent of the time. Formed in 1994, the nonprofit ambulatory services is owned by St. Mary’s of Michigan hospital and Covenant HealthCare, operates about 90 ambulances in 10 counties and operates as many as 25 at a time in Saginaw County, said Thompson. MMR responded to 16,509 calls in and immediately surrounding Saginaw in 2011 and to 3,723 calls in Saginaw County’s rural communities. MMR recently became the first ambulatory dispatch center in Michigan to receive Accredited Center of Excellence recognition from the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch.
Photo: Hucknall Dispatch
HUCKNALL’S National Church of England Academy is now better prepared than ever for life-threatening emergencies — after the horrific day when Callum Massey was assaulted and nearly lost his life. A first-aid training programme taken by staff helped save the life of teenager Callum Massey. And now the school has been presented with a mobile defibrillator that can be used to re-start someone’s heart in the case of another major drama unfolding.The kit has been provided by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Several members of staff at the school have now been trained by members of the East Midlands Ambulance Service on how to use the equipment under a ‘Heartstart‘ initiative. A representative of the BHF said during a presentation: “We provide the equipment but you guys are out there using it, which makes a lifesaving piece of equipment. “I hope you never have to use it. But the kit alone is worthless without having those who have been trained. Early resuscitation and early defibrillation gives people the best chance of survival.” National head teacher, Dr Jon Edwards, said: “This is a good thing for the school and a good thing we have people willing to be put forward to be trained on this equipment.” In January, the 13-year-old Callum fell to the floor and stopped breathing after he was punched by another student. Tests revealed the collapse was caused by an undiagnosed heart problem that if left untreated could have caused his death at any time without the altercation. Callum returned to school within the week fitted with an internal defibrillator. His mother Lynnn believes the playground scrap ultimately saved her son’s life. East Midlands Ambulance Service is a long-time user of Medical Protocol.
Dispatcher recalls 1968 DC Riots
Martin Luther King memorial
The first day of Steve Souder’s job as a radio dispatcher in Washington, D.C., cemented his choice in careers. It was April 4, 1968 – the day Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. – sparking riots and fires from one end of the city to the other for the next three days. Hear Souder’s story at http://wusa9.com/news/article/185062/373/Dispatcher-Reflects-On-First-Day-At-Work—-1968-DC-Riots.
Erica Engstrom (Ogden Standard Examiner)
On Jan. 4, Weber (Utah) Area Dispatch Center dispatcher Erica Engstrom fielded a 9-1-1 call reporting a shoot out between a regional strike force and a suspected drug user. The officers had attempted to serve a “knock and announce” search warrant at the home when the resident opened fire. One officer was killed and five others were wounded in the incident. The suspect, although wounded, survived. An interview with Engstrom can be seen at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=18853547&autostart=y.
Poetry relieves dispatch stress
I am passing along a website dedicated to dispatch poetry, which my co-editor James Thalman discovered (didn’t want to take the credit for his work!). I’ve pasted a poem from the site. To check out others or to add your own, go to: http://www.squidoo.com/dispatcherpoems.
Massachusetts goes EMD
Massachusetts
PSAPs in Massachusetts are now required by law to provide Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) services to 911 callers no later than July 1, 2012. According to comprehensive 911 legislation passed in 2008,certification requirements for enhanced 911 telecommunicators include, but are not limited to, emergency medical dispatch and quality assurance of emergency medical dispatch programs. The provision, filed June 30, 2011, gives centers a year to fulfill requirements through certification and training programs.
Call was accidental although the arrest wasn’t
stock photo
A Madison (Wisc.) Police dispatcher got the low down on the goods without anyone – but police – being any the wiser.
What do your ears say?
Can you hear the difference?
An imaginative series of quizzes on the Jamaica Plain (Mass.) Patch website tests readers tone awareness by differentiating among the different emergency sirens: fire engine, police, and ambulance.
From the Holland (Mich.) Sentinel
Holland Sentinel Photo
Jordan Poulin had to look quite a ways up to make eye contact with a group of Holland police and firefighters, but she still reveled in their admiration.
www.911education.com
Calling 9-1-1 with false reports of a potential murder to spite his party host wasn’t such a clever Halloween trick for a 52-year-old man from a suburb southwest of Chicago.