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Ark. EMS wins national technology award

Fort Smith EMS received the 2014 Technology Leadership Award, which recognizes 911 centers that proactively seek solutions to manage the introduction of technological advancements in their center and community

Times Record

FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Fort Smith EMS 911 Communications Center has been recognized nationally for its leadership in technology.

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials presented its 2014 Technology Leadership Award to Fort Smith EMS at a Monday ceremony held in New Orleans. The award recognizes 911 centers that proactively seek solutions to manage the introduction of technological advancements in their center and community, according to a news release from Fort Smith EMS Director Tim Hearn.

This is the second time in three years that Fort Smith EMS has received the Technology Leadership Award, formerly known as the Horizon Award. The center received the 2012 Horizon Award.

“We continually install the latest and greatest systems and equipment to ensure we are providing the very best emergency services we can,” Hearn stated in the release. “We are currently in the process of installing a new computer aided dispatch system that will reduce dispatch times and provide additional decision support tools for emergency medical dispatchers.”

The 911 center has incorporated new technology that shares incident information with receiving emergency departments. Fort Smith EMS is the first in the nation to use such technology, Hearn stated.

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©2014 Times Record (Fort Smith, Ark.)