Washington, D.C.–The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED™) spotlighted the extraordinary achievements of longtime advocates and the power of the unified protocols through several awards presented during its annual NAVIGATOR conference held April 27–29.
EMD Letisha Ghanbari with General Motors’ OnStar received the Infor-sponsored 2016 Dispatcher of the Year Award.
“My reaction to being named the 2016 NAVIGATOR Dispatcher of the year was delayed,” she said. “It took me a bit to truly wrap my mind around it and for it to really click. I was shocked, over-excited, and honored to have won such a prestigious award. It was like winning the Oscars of my profession. As it began to sink in, I started to realize its magnitude. I am really honored. This award is not just my own but a reflection of the incredible level of work my management staff, training team, and peers do every day and that every moment does matter both on and off the calls.”
John Lofgren received the Instructor of the Year Award, recognizing his talents and dedication in presenting EMD and EFD certification courses and mentoring new instructors.
Culminating the NAVIGATOR festivities, the Dr. Jeff Clawson Leadership Award (also sponsored by Infor) was presented to Joseph Ornato, M.D. He is a professor and Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. Dr. Ornato is also the Medical Director of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA), the high-performance EMS system serving the residents of Richmond, Va. In addition, he is triple-board certified in internal medicine, cardiology, emergency medicine, and is an active researcher in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Dr. Ornato was instrumental in driving the Accredited Centers of Excellence (ACE) accreditation process for the RAA and was a founder and author of the “Chain of Survival” concept, which helps improve mortality rates for cardiac arrest victims. He saw the value of telephone CPR early and led the change to compressions-only CPR to increase survival.
"[Dr. Ornato] is a true visionary regarding EMS and the role of the dispatch center,” said Jerry Overton, Chair of the Board of Accreditation, who presented the award. “He clearly recognized the need for early CPR and continues to be a visionary as far as resuscitation is concerned. He recognized the importance of protocol and has been relentless in the pursuit of excellence. He deserves the Clawson Award.”
About the IAED
The IAED is the world’s foremost standard-setting, certification-granting organization for emergency communications with over 57,000 members in 45 countries. More than 3,000 communication centers in 21 languages employ IAED’s protocols and training in medical, fire, police, and emergency nurse triage dispatching. Of those, nearly 200 comm. centers have become (ACEs).
About Infor
Infor is fundamentally changing the way information is published and consumed, helping 73,000 customers in more than 200 countries and territories improve operations, drive growth, and quickly adapt to changes in business demands. Infor offers deep industry-specific applications and suites, engineered for speed, and with an innovative user experience design that is simple, transparent, and elegant. Infor provides flexible deployment options that give customers a choice to run their businesses in the cloud, on-premises, or both. To learn more about Infor, please visit www.infor.com.
About Priority Dispatch
Priority Dispatch Corp.™ provides research-based protocol solutions to emergency call centers in medical, fire, police, and nurse triage disciplines. PDC™ is the only dispatch system provider with an in-house research and development organization and the approval of a recognized body of industry experts, the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED).