Press Release
May 3, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 960-6236 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
Stephen Bunker wasn’t kidding when he acknowledged the parents of a two-year-old for getting him into something deeper than he had first anticipated.
“They have no idea what they started,” said Bunker, who for 25 years was with the Maine Department of Public Safety, serving as the first director of the state’s E-911 bureau.
But it’s a good thing they did since the incident—reviving the child on scene at a time before the local dispatch center had adopted protocols—catapulted Bunker into relentless advocacy for emergency communications training standards, legislation, and adherence to the protocol system invented by Jeff Clawson, M.D.
Bunker was one of three people receiving the Dr. Jeff Clawson Leadership Award during a presentation at the closing luncheon of the Navigator 2012 conference sponsored by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (NAED™). Each received a $500 honorarium for donation to a charity of the recipient’s choosing.
Bunker’s co-recipients were Gordon Deans, executive director, Maryland Emergency Number Systems Board; and Greg Mears, M.D., EMS medical director for North Carolina and executive director of the EMS Performance Improvement Center.
“Each has made significant contributions to emergency dispatch,” said Dr. Clawson during the awards presentation. “Each is dedicated to the course.”
Deans’ interaction with the Academy goes back more than a decade, and his dedication to the Emergency Priority Dispatch System™ Protocols used in 3,515 communications centers worldwide has resulted in many PSAPs in Maryland using the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®) for nearly 15 years.
Dr. Mears has an extensive list of accomplishments over the past 20 years as a local EMS medical director, the NC State EMS medical director, and as the original principal investigator in the development of the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS). Largely because of his collaborative approach, 64 of the state’s 100 counties have approved EMD programs.
The Leadership Award is given annually to an individual or group of individuals making significant contributions to the emergency dispatch profession.
The annual Navigator conference draws more than 1,200 people from the emergency communications profession. This year’s Navigator was held in Baltimore, Md., from April 18–20. The NAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide.
For more information about the Academy, visit www.emergencydispatch.org or call 800-960-6236.
May 3, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 960-6236 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
The Communications Center Manager (CCM) Course isn’t about getting comfortable in your role.
That’s about as far away as you can get from describing CCM, according to Jay Fitch, president, Fitch & Associates, and co-sponsor of the course.
“Are you comfortable being named the leader of your organization?” he asked as an introductory to CCM graduation ceremonies held during the Navigator conference, which took place April 18–20 in Baltimore, Md. “I hope not unless you have others following. That’s the true test. Never become so comfortable that you don’t stand up for others.”
The CCM course, sponsored by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (NAED™) and Fitch & Associates, combines online studies and onsite classroom time to help aspiring, new, or experienced managers further develop skills tailored to the 9-1-1 communications center environment.
Fitch describes CCM as an accelerated program designed for maximum impact in a short time frame. It focuses on multiple principles essential to the art of successful leadership as they apply to the communications center, including people, quality, service, finance, and growth.
The small group settings promoted during the two non-successive weeks onsite are organized according to interests and personality. The time online promotes the exchange of information and ideas that goes on long after the formal course ends. Everyone contributes to the creation of a sustained learning environment.
“CCM allows people to go through the self-discovery process from a curriculum and staff that take them into the future,” Fitch said. “The men and women honored today worked hard to get here.”
The learning experience does not happen in isolation. Camaraderie develops through an emphasis on teamwork and constant contact. The Class of 2011 representative Monica Million said the course is about doing what’s right for your communications center.
“CCM builds relationships among forward-thinking individuals,” said Million, who received the inaugural David M. Connolly CCM Leadership Award. “It’s about networking and sharing what kind of leader you aspire to be.”
Connolly was presented the CCM Leadership Award for the Class of 2007. He died unexpectedly on Oct. 2, 2011.
The 2012 online session begins Aug. 27. Onsite weeks are Sept. 23-28 and Dec. 2-7. For more information about registration for CCM 2012, contact Sharon Conroy, Fitch & Associates, at (816) 431-2600 or sconroy@fitchassoc.com.
May 2, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 960-6236 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
The determination to become an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) was put on stage in April when 15 first-time and 48 repeat ACEs were announced at the Navigator conference held April 18-20 in Baltimore, Md.
Two of the centers were also acknowledged as the fourth and fifth Tri-ACEs in the world. A Tri-ACE signifies accreditation in the Fire, Police, and Medical Protocols developed by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (NAED™). Accreditation is valid for three years, at which time agencies must apply for renewal.
The Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência de São Paulo (SAMU-SP) (São Paulo Emergency Mobile Attention Service) now holds the title of the world’s largest medical ACE, and it is the first mobile urgency and emergency service to receive this accreditation in Latin America.
Accreditation Chairman Brian Dale congratulated the agencies for “Taking the Challenge,” the theme of this year’s NAED-sponsored conference.
“An ACE can’t be about one person deciding it has to be done,” he said. “An ACE is about everyone at all levels of the communications center. To achieve, it has to be made part of the culture.”
The ACE distinction takes the commitment to fulfill the Academy’s Twenty Points of Accreditation, and the Twenty Points must be completed for each accreditation a center decides to pursue. For example, the two Tri-ACEs recognized this year—Johnston County (N.C.) E-9-1-1 Communications and Prince George’s County (Md.) Public Safety Communications (PSC) Center—went through the process three times, accomplishing the required Twenty Points for each separate accreditation.
Don Aker, trainer at Prince George’s County PSC, said ACE showed the rest of the world what he already knew about the center.
“We’ve always been a center of excellence and this proves it,” he said. “We’ve worked very hard to get to where we are today.”
Accredited centers share common goals to improve public care and maximize the efficiency of 9-1-1 systems; and the NAED, through its College of Fellows, established a high standard of excellence for emergency dispatch, providing the tools to achieve the standard at both the dispatcher level through certification, and at the communications center level through the ACE program. The first ACE was awarded to the Albuquerque (N.M.) Fire Department in 1993 and since then, 166 centers have been accredited.
The annual Navigator conference draws more than 1,200 people from the emergency communications profession. This year’s Navigator was held in Baltimore, Md. The NAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide.
For more information about the Academy, visit www.emergencydispatch.org or call 800-960-6236.
May 2, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 960-6236 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
New Hampshire Bureau of Communications EMD™ Joyce Jastrem was honored as the Dispatcher of the Year at the Navigator 2012 conference held April 18–20 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, Md.
While the award is based on several factors, including compliance to the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (NAED™) emergency dispatch protocol system, it’s the audio of the call submitted as part her nomination that captured the judges’ and audience’s attention.
Jastrem stayed on the line for 10 minutes and 22 seconds giving compressions-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructions to Lynn Shull to revive Barnstead, N.H., cardiac arrest victim Jim Riley. Shull and Riley were repairing a roof in a nearby rural town on a seasonal 30-degree day on Dec. 1, 2011, when Riley collapsed and stopped breathing. Shull pumped for several minutes, relinquishing the lifesaving support to two passers-by who stopped to give aid.
Ten minutes into the call, fire rescue crews arriving on scene defibrillated Riley and began transport to a local hospital. He was later airlifted to Dartmouth Medical Center in Hanover, N.H. One week later, Riley was home recuperating from surgery to implant a stent into a blocked artery.
Jastrem is one of the first dispatchers hired and certified when the state’s single centralized PSAP started taking 9-1-1 calls in 1995. Of all the thousands of calls she’s taken over the years, Riley is the first person she has met from any of them and to top that off, this call represents the first award she’s received for the thousands of hours spent behind a CAD or radio.
“You really never expect anything like this,” Jastrem said of the award. “To me, it was a typical call.”
Riley never thought he’d see the day he’d get teary-eyed on stage, let alone be in front of an audience numbering close to 1,200 people. But, then again, he didn’t anticipate his friend, two good Samaritans, and an EMD working together to save his life.
“I’m not real good at public speaking,” Riley said, wiping away tears on stage at the Navigator conference. “But I’m getting much better at public crying.”
The annual Navigator conference draws more than 1,200 people from the emergency communications profession. This year’s Navigator was held in Baltimore, Md. The NAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide.
For more information about the Academy, visit www.emergencydispatch.org or call 800-960-6236.
May 12, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 363-9127 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
New Hampshire dispatcher receives annual Navigator award
New Hampshire Bureau of Emergency Communication PSAP Supervisor Stephen Harris, EMD, received the Dispatcher of the Year Award for 2011 at the Navigator Conference sponsored by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch™ (NAED®).
Harris was at work during the midnight shift on Thanksgiving Day 2010 when he responded to a call from Tom “TJ” Cogswell who needed immediate medical assistance for his wife Denise. The Wolfeboro, N.H., resident had lapsed into a seizure later attributed to heart arrest caused by ventricular fibulation.
“She’s not waking up,” he told Harris.
Harris launched into the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®) Pre-Arrival Instructions for CPR, surprised TJ who expected to wait in anxious silence for responders to arrive. TJ was able to administered chest compressions following the instructions Harris relayed through his stepson Derek Brockney.
Paramedics took over upon arrival, applying two shocks from a defibrillator prior to transport. Denise was transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., where she spent one week in ICU.
Harris later met the family during a visit to the PSAP, and for a second time at Navigator when they were brought together on stage for the award presentation.
Denise acknowledged Harris, her son, TJ, and MPDS for beating the odds.
“There were a lot of heroes that day,” Denise said. “And, I’d like to thank all of you. I am alive because of what you do.”
Harris said he was awed by the recognition, although accolades he said aren’t the reason he enjoys working in dispatch.
“It feels great to know we can save lives,” said Harris, a firefighter prior to transferring to dispatch three years ago.
More than 1,200 emergency communication professionals attended this year’s Navigator Conference held April 20 to April 22 at the Paris in Las Vegas. The NAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide. Baltimore, Md., will be the host city for Navigator 2012.
For more information about the NAED, visit www.emergencydispatch.org or call 800-960-6236.
May 12, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 363-9127 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
City of Hialeah Public Safety Communications Division achieves triple ACE
It’s official.
The City of Hialeah (Fla.) Public Safety Communications Division is now home to a tri-accredited emergency dispatch center.
The announcement, made April 21 at Navigator 2011 in Las Vegas, underscores the center’s high standards and excellence in three disciplines of emergency dispatch: law enforcement, fire, and EMS. It is only one of three 9-1-1 centers in the world to achieve triple Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) status through the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (NAED™).
Hialeah Director of Communications Chief Lazaro Guerra credited hardworking staff for reaching the goal that not only accomplishes prioritized emergency response and technical capabilities but, also, the customer service provided at a center receiving 345,500 calls annually. Hialeah is the fifth largest city in Florida.
“Tri-ACE was the direct result of shared staff training, hard work, and tenacity,” he said. “We are now able to verify and validate our performance for everyone to see.”
The recognition followed within two years of the center’s consolidation. In October 2009, the dispatchers and calltakers from two centers merged into a new 3,000 square-foot facility located in the fire administration building.
Accreditation is a comprehensive project. Public Safety Communications dispatchers must meet specific standards for certification and the agency must submit an ACE application form along with a detailed, self-study document based on the Academy's Twenty Points. The self-study covers everything from the center’s description to procedures outlining a quality improvement plan, continuing dispatch education, and compliance to the life-saving emergency dispatch protocols developed by Jeff Clawson, M.D.
The City of Hialeah Public Safety Communications Division was among 45 new and reaccredited ACEs recognized at the annual Navigator conference. More than 100 of the 3,000 centers worldwide using the fire, police, and/or medical protocols are recognized ACEs.
More than 1,200 emergency communications professionals attended this year’s Navigator conference held April 20-22 at the Paris in Las Vegas. The NAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide. Baltimore, Md., will be the host city for Navigator 2012.
For more information about the NAED, visit www.emergencydispatch.org or call 800-960-6236.
May 12, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 363-9127 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
Emergency call center program to protect children advances in numbers
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children® (NCMEC) added 12 more public-safety answering points (PSAPs) from eight states to its 9-1-1 Call Center Partner Program.
The announcement made at Navigator 2011, sponsored by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (NAED™) held in April at the Paris Hotel, brings the total number of partners (9-1-1 agencies) to 25 on the state and local levels.
More than 300 dispatchers from these centers have been trained in handling calls for missing and/or sexually exploited children, as outlined in the ANSI-approved standard.
William Hinkle, NCMEC Call Center Program Executive Committee chairman, congratulated the centers for their dedication to defending children.
“They have adopted a principle to safeguard our most precious possessions,” said Hinkle, past president of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and former director of the Hamilton County (Ohio) Department of Communications. “There is nothing more important that we do than protect our children.”
Partners accepted into the program must participate in training programs designed for managers and calltakers/dispatchers and adopt policies and procedures developed by NCMEC in collaboration with the NAED, NENA, and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
NCMEC 911 Partners during the first quarter of 2011 are: El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Woodland Park Police Department, and Fountain Police Department (Colo.); Boca Raton Police/Fire—Rescue 9-1-1 and Tallahassee Police Department (Fla.); Ada County Sheriff’s Office (Idaho); Riverside Department of Public Safety (Mo.); Oxford Police Department (Ohio); Loudon County E911 (Tenn.); Provo City Police/Fire and Valley Emergency Communications Center (Utah); and NORCOM (Washington).
NCMEC, established by Congress in 1984, operates a toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline that has handled more than 2,528,730 calls. For course descriptions, training dates, and more information about the NCMEC 9-1-1 Call Center program, visit www.missingkids.com/911 or e-mail 911@ncmec.org.
More than 1,200 emergency communications professionals attended this year’s Navigator conference held April 20-22 at the Paris in Las Vegas. The NAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide. Baltimore, Md., will be the host city for Navigator 2012.
For more information about the NAED, visit www.emergencydispatch.org or call 800-960-6236.
May 12, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 363-9127 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
Navigator, the educational conference hot spot for emergency dispatch drew more than 1,200 professionals from 14 countries during six days of workshops and sessions held in April at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Sponsored by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED) Dispatch, the conference drew professionals from countries that include the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, China, and Brazil. Workshops and sessions divided into seven educational tracks provided a bevy of choices suited to every level of emergency communications.
Not only were the classrooms filled near to capacity but, other activities dedicated to award presentations, exhibits, inspirational talks by keynote speakers, networking and a communications center tour were packed as well
This year’s Dispatcher of the Year award went to New Hampshire Bureau of Emergency Communications EMD Stephen Harris. Jeff Clawson, M.D., co-founder of the NAED, presented awards recognizing lifetime service and leadership. The City of Hialeah (Fla.) Public Safety Communications Division was announced as the third center in the world to achieve accreditation in fire, police, and medical dispatch.
College of Fellows Chair Marc Gay and IAED Standards Council Chair Marie Leroux accepted the Emeritus Award for lifetime service to the Academy. This was the fifth time in 20 years Dr. Jeff Clawson has presented the award. Both said the honor took them by surprise.
“The past 20 years have provided a wonderful experience helping the protocol grow from a good tool used in the states to an excellent one used throughout the world,” Leroux said. “But it’s the dedication of all of you that makes the good things happen.”
The German Language Cultural Committee took home the leadership award. The committee of 10 translated the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) protocol into the German language, which includes determining changes to accommodate medical/cultural details without affecting protocol’s integrity. The four members present to accept the award donated the $500 honoree check to the Japanese Red Cross to assist earthquake/tsunami victims.
The Academy announced 12 new Accredited Centers of Excellence (ACE) achieved over the past year in addition to 33 centers earning reaccreditation. An ACE signifies the highest level of excellence for emergency dispatch centers and requires completion of a rigorous 20-point self-study document and an onsite evaluation visit by Academy representatives.
Opening day featured speaker Richard Picciotto, a retired New York Fire Department (FDNY) Chief and the highest-ranking firefighter to survive the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. He and members of his Battalion 11 were descending a stairwell between the sixth and seventh floors of the North Tower when—at 10:28 a.m. Eastern time—the tower collapsed and his life flashed before his eyes.
NAED President Scott Freitag called Navigator 2011 a momentous occasion.
“It’s exciting to witness the Academy’s growth,” “Just about everywhere we go calltakers are answering calls the way they should. Other aspects of operations may vary from country to country but protocol is a common thread.”
Each spring upwards of 1,000 emergency services professionals gather at the NAED’s annual Navigator conference to learn more about the dispatch role in EMS. The NAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services.
For more information about the Academy, visit www.emergencydispatch.org
September 29, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kris Berg
(800) 960-6236 ext. 116
kris.berg@emergencydispatch.org
Jerry Overton to lead IAED Clinical Advice Board
The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED™) announces the selection of Jerry Overton as Chairman of the IAED Emergency Clinical Advice System & Standards Board.
In his new position, Overton will oversee the processes that clinically and technically combine emergency medical dispatch (EMD) protocols and nurse triage for health care access management.
Overton said the position offers him the exciting prospect of working even more closely with Jeff Clawson, M.D., inventor of the Priority Dispatch System™ (PDS™) and founder of the NAED™/IAED.
“I have tremendous respect for Dr. Clawson and the Academy,” he said. “This is a remarkable opportunity. I was asked to come aboard and quickly agreed.”
Overton brings extensive emergency medical services experience to the position, including 19 years as executive director of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) in Virginia and similar positions with the Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust (MAST) and Kansas City EMS, both in Kansas City, Mo. Overton was among the first directors of a large EMS to embrace the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®).
Dr. Clawson acknowledged Overton for expertise in EMS Status Systems Management, which is a process to direct EMS resources between calls in order to prepare the system for the best possible response for all subsequent EMS calls.
Overton and Dr. Clawson began their long professional association in 1989 when Overton was intent on improving dispatch services in Kansas City. He is a member of the NAED College of Fellows, a position he will continue to hold. His dedication to the dispatch process is reflected in the Jeff Clawson Leadership Award he received at the Academy's Navigator 2010.
“If you ever hear me talk about EMS system design, you know my beliefs regarding where it all begins,”said Overton, following the award presentation. “That's dispatch. When it goes right we're going to save a life. When it doesn't, there's going to be a problem.”
In addition to his EMS career, Overton has provided technical assistance to numerous EMS systems throughout the United States and to governments and agencies in Europe, Russia, Asia, Australia, and Canada. He also designed an implementation plan for an Emergency Medical Transport program in Central Bosnia—Herzegovina.
Overton's EMS credentials are striking. He is on the governing board for the North American Association of Public Utility Models (NAPUM) and a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee for the Future of Emergency Care in the U. S. Health Care System. He is a past president of the American Ambulance Association. He is chief financial officer of the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine. He was selected as EMS Administrator of the Year in Missouri and Virginia. He serves on the editorial boards of two emergency peer review journals.
The Fire, Police, and Medical Priority Dispatch Systems are found in 3,000 communications centers around the world, including centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
August 15, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Ron McDaniel
+1 (801) 363-9127
ron.mcdaniel@emergencydispatch.org
IAED and IRHC team up to train Emergency Medical Dispatchers in Middle East
Salt Lake City, Utah - August 16, 2010 - The Institute of Remote Health Care (IRHC) became the first licensed training site in the Middle East for the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (AMPDS®).
The IRHC, in conjunction with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED™), will offer the three-day AMPDS course to dispatchers in Middle East requiring certification in the medical protocol used in emergency communications centers throughout the world. Dr. Aimen Merii, an IAED certified instructor, will be in charge of the Middle East office in Dubai, a country that uses the AMPDS in its emergency 9-9-9 centers.
"The certification course offers a fabulous opportunity to centers in the Middle East requiring the gold standard in emergency communications for its dispatchers," said Ron McDaniel, Chief Planning Officer for the Priority Dispatch Corp., distributors of the AMPDS. "The AMPDS is making huge strides in the international delivery of emergency response, proving its universal application and appeal to countries far outside the United States."
About AMPDS
The AMPDS is a medically approved, unified system used to dispatch appropriate aid to medical emergencies featuring systematized caller interrogation and pre-arrival instructions. It has been translated into 14 languages including Arabic.
About IRHC
IRHC was founded in 2008 to increase awareness of challenges of remote healthcare practice. The organization promotes standards in remote healthcare, advances standards of education and training for remote healthcare practitioners, and encourages regulation of remote healthcare practitioners through the establishment of a voluntary register. For more information about IRHC, visit http://www.irhc.co.uk.
About IAED
IAED is a non-profit, standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide. Compromised of three allied academies for medical, fire, and police dispatching, the IAED supports first-responder-related research, unified protocol application, legislation for emergency call-center regulation, and strengthening the emergency dispatch community through education, certification, and accreditation. For more information about IAED, visit www.emergencydispatch.org.
