By Dean Mosiman
The Wisconsin State Journal
DANE COUNTY, Wis. — In another move to improve speed of service, the Dane County 911 center board on Wednesday approved a pilot program that will change how call takers handle hangups and disconnected calls.
The board unanimously approved a 90-day test that will have call takers answer all live incoming 911 calls before trying to contact callers who hang up or get disconnected before contact is made with a call taker.
Call takers will still call back if they are disconnected while speaking with a caller.
But calls abandonned before contact is made will now be placed in a queue, and call takers will return them as soon as possible after active 911 calls are handled. The pilot will start as soon as the queue is in place and staff are properly trained.
Currently, call takers are required to call people back on abandoned calls before they move to the next incoming call, which can increase answering time for active calls. 911 center director John Dejung said he can quickly implement the new procedure.
The board also approved a motion recommending that the Dane County Fire Chiefs Association explore opportunities to allow the 911 center to send the closest emergency units to an emergency, regardless of jurisdictional lines. The recommendation came after attorneys for the county and city of Madison agreed the board doesn’t have authority to order such a change.
“It’s just encouraging them to look at it,” said board member and Dane County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Hook.
The moves come after months of scrutiny — much of it from Madison officials — of 911 center call answering and dispatch times, which do not meet national standards, and proposals by County Executive Joe Parisi to improve service. In May, the board approved a “pre-alerting” program that allows dispatch of emergency responders more quickly for more types of fires and significant rescues. Preliminary data show the change shaving nearly a minute from dispatching those type of calls, Dejung reported Wednesday.
On June 4, the board agreed to temporarily suspend the use of Police Priority Dispatch — computer-aided, scripted questions implemented in 2010 — as soon as Dejung assures that personnel are properly trained in more flexible guidelines used in the past. The center will continue to use Priority Dispatch for fire and emergency medical service calls.
On Wednesday, the board agreed to change the call-answering protocol.
About 13 percent of 911 calls are abandoned or disconnected, Dejung said. After those calls are returned, about 10 percent of those turn out to be incidents — most of which are domestic violence related.
About 65 percent of such calls are abandoned in 0 to 10 seconds, he said. Sometimes, while call takers return those calls, new incoming 911 calls must wait, he said.
The board struggled with changing the system because there is no way to determine if an abandoned call or active new one will be a report of a serious emergency.
“Any given call could be a crisis,” said board member and Madison Police Capt. Richard Bach.
But the board ultimately agreed that answering new calls and responding to those in the abandoned call queue as quickly as possible is the best option.
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©2014 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.)