By Greg Kendall-Ball
Abilene Reporter-News
ABILENE, Texas — More than 30 Abilene dispatchers are in training this week to prepare for the June 1 rollout of the city’s new emergency medical dispatch system.
Each trainee is required to have 24 hours of training for certification as an emergency medical dispatcher, and an additional four hours of training specifi c to the department’s new software, said Greg Goettsch of the Abilene Fire Department. Goettsch is the project manager for the transition to the new dispatch system.
“This week, three classes of students will attend lectures that will earn them certification as EMDs, which would allow them to work in any system, regardless of the software package. Next week, they’ll train on the actual software we’ll be using,” Goettsch said.
That software is the ProQA system developed by Salt Lake City-based Priority Dispatch. The new system comes with a price tag north of $125,000 but is expected to result in net savings for Abilene taxpayers.
“The ‘QA’ in the name stands for ‘Question and Answer,’ ” Goettsch said. “The EMDs, when the system is in place and they’re trained, will be able to ask questions of the 911 callers which will allow them to better determine what equipment and personnel need to be dispatched. So, we won’t be rolling out the whole cavalry every time someone calls in with a headache.”
Sending only an ambulance to low-priority, nonemergency medical calls means firetrucks stay at the station, reducing wear and tear and lowering expenses such as fuel. It also means the emergency equipment is free to respond to more serious emergencies.
Goettsch said the ProQA system, developed with significant input from physicians, has been around since the late 1970s.
“At this point, they’ve got the bugs worked out,” he said.
In 2011, the Abilene Fire Department received 15,623 calls to 911. Of those, 11,610, nearly 75 percent, were for medical reasons.
Goettsch said other fire departments that have switched to an EMD system have reported reductions up to 30 percent in the number of medical calls. He said AFD expects to see up to a 17 percent reduction in medical calls during the system’s first year.
In addition to providing savings to the city and increasing emergency response readiness, Goettsch said the dispatchers themselves will benefit from the system.
“Dispatching is often thankless work, and currently, all they can really do is advise a caller on how to do CPR and then help them remain calm,” he said.
The new system is geared toward getting dispatchers to help a caller treat the patient until help can arrive.
“Now, with the training and the software, they’ll be able to offer concrete medical help, and there’s the satisfaction of knowing you’ve been able to do more to help someone,” Goettsch said.
Copyright 2012 The E.W. Scripps Company
All Rights Reserved