it's not just emd: a powerphone webinar

911 Calls Us®

© Copyright 2011#notjustEMD

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Monday, April 1, 13

Chris SalafiaPresident & CEO20 Years in 911 industry

Awarded 5 U.S. patents

198,000 trained worldwide

Focus on best practices & processes to make 911 better

#notjustEMD

@Salafia

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Monday, April 1, 13

PowerPhone SnapshotChristopher SalafiaPresident & CEO

Jeremy TurkVice President

Gary Moore, Dr.P.H.Director of Training

Cory FriendDir. Professional Services

Founded in 1984

Located in Madison, CT

Leadership Mission Statement

Quick Facts

To leverage people, processes and technology

in a way that empowers public safety.

‣ 28 years in 911 industry

‣ 198,000+ dispatchers trained worldwide

‣ First to provide police and fire protocols

‣ Inventors of Computer Aided Call Handling

‣ Assigned five U.S. patents for 911 call handling

‣ Training & systems deployed around the world

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“Qui Docet, Discit” Those that teach learn.

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What did we learn?

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Training alone is not

enough!

#notjustEMD© Copyright 2013

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Why it matters?• 911 is the epicenter

• Response begins with the call

• Information is power

• Enhanced responder safety

• 911 calls can be crucial evidence to investigators


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911 Forensics• 911 call recordings are a

permanent record

• Admissible as evidence

• Dying declarations & spontaneous utterances

• Investigative questioning by dispatchers can greatly assist investigators!


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Demographics Poll

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911 Today...• Heightened public

expectations

• Technological advances

• Interoperability

• Increased reporting

• “Doing more with less”


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911 Tomorrow...• Changing call

demand

• Non-traditional channels

• Consolidation

• Doing more with less!


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Standard of Care

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“When you call Tech Support for help with your computer, the operator follows a script. When you call 911 for help in a

crisis, the call taker may not. To us, that does not make sense.”

- Christopher M. Salafia, CEOPowerPhone


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Any Call...• Address details

• Caller details

• Nature of response

• Where + What = Who Goes and How Fast


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• “The Smart Stuff”

• Incident specific lines of questioning

- Severity and immediacy of response

- Scene safety and accessibility

- Directions and descriptions

- Pre-arrival instructions

- Standard of care

Any Call...


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Protocol Poll

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The EMD Process• Structured information

gathering

• Objective dispatch recommendations

• Pre-arrival instructions

• Updates to responders

• Validation via Quality Assurance


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<10%#notjustEMD

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70%#notjustEMD

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9-1-1One Protocol!


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The Problem‣ Inconsistent 911 call handling

‣ Technology focused on response

‣ Standards only applied to EMS calls

‣ Inconsistent standard of care

‣Compromised investigations

‣ Risk to callers, victims and responders


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Every decade, a new widespread form of technology is adopted by public safety.

Structured call taking is the future of emergency communications.


2010’sStructured Call Taking

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This formula can be applied

to any call!

• Initial Survey

• Primary Questions

• Dispatch Recommendation

• Pre-Arrival Instructions

• Secondary Questions

• Call Closure

Structured Call Taking

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Initial Survey

• Incident Location & Caller Details

• Nature of Emergency

• Party Caller

• Special Circumstances


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Primary Questions• Incident specific

questions to best describe scene conditions

• Injuries, In progress, Weapons, Hazards, Multiples...

• Generate an objective dispatch decision based upon information gathered


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Dispatch Recommendation

• Resource Allocation & Response Prioritization

• Dispatch decision based on scene conditions. NOT arbitrary or subjective.

• “When in doubt send them out” is no longer acceptable


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Pre-Arrival Instructions• Pertain as much to

Police and Fire as they do to EMD

• As much about telling callers what NOT to do as what to do.

• Your calltakers are already doing it now Ad hoc. Just formalize it.


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Secondary Questions• Post Dispatch

Questions

• Previous history, hazards, etc.

• Scene Safety

• Evidence Preservation

• Paint the picture for responders


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Call Closure

• Standardize the call close process

• Set expectations

• Train your callers. Make them an active participant in the delivery of service


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Key Takeaway

• The content is a distant second to the call handling process.

• Own the process and the content will come naturally.

• Every call deserves the same level of service

The content is secondary to the process

Own the process and the content comes naturally

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Quality Assurance• A system that can’t

be measured can’t be improved

• QA on ANY call

• NOT just about the people!

• Protocols are not absolutes


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Case Study• Ogle County 911 ETSB (Illinois)

• Sandy Beitel, 911 Coordinator

• Population 55,000

• Serves 5 PD’s & 37 Fire & EMS

• High standard of care

• PowerPhone Customer for 20 years

• Deployed Total Response Unified Protocol System


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• Internal Champion

• Involve ALL stakeholders

• Focus on QA & Measurement at the onset

• Take baby steps

• Train and reinforce training

• Celebrate Wins!

Lessons Learned• Greater consistency

across all call types

• Pre-arrivals help with scene safety

• Empowered workforce improves morale

• Higher standard of care provided to callers and responders

Benefits Realized

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Overcoming Objections• We do that already

• You can’t script police calls

• It’s going to delay dispatch

• We’re too different

• We’re going to get sued


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The “L” Word• Can be overstated

• Be consistent

• Develop policy

• and act in accordance with it

• The 3 E’s

• Don’t forget to train! :-)


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Action Plan• Appoint a Champion

• Funding Sources?

• Vendor Due Diligence

✴ Similar programs, but definite differences!

✴ Check References

✴ Post Sales Support


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• Select Vendor

✴ Cards or Software

✴ CAD integration

• Train and certify your staff

✴ Classroom, online or both

• Deploy protocols

• Measure via Quality Assurance

Action Plan


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The Outcomes• Greater Consistency in

Call Handling

• More Objective Dispatch Decisions

• Higher Standard of Care

• Better Protect Callers & Responders


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Good people want to help

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“In 10 years, people won’t believe you when you tell them there was a time

when 911 calls weren’t managed in a standardized fashion.”

- Christopher M. Salafia, CEOPowerPhone


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Thank You!

What Happens Next?PowerPhone.com/Resources

Ogle County Case StudyUnified Protocols White PaperWebinar Recording & Survey

[email protected]

Monday, April 1, 13

911 Calls Us®


Monday, April 1, 13

it's not just emd: a powerphone webinar

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