Stevens County Streamlines Emergency Medical Response by Transitioning to Total Response 911 Call-Handling Solution
The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office (Colville, Washington) has streamlined emergency medical response for 911 calls by transitioning to PowerPhone’s Total Response system.
Stevens County’s upgrade includes replacing paper-based call-handling protocols with a comprehensive Computer-Aided Call Handling (CACH) software system that seamlessly interfaces with their Spillman Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD). The interface provides responders with all of the gathered information while en route to an incident scene.
PowerPhone worked closely with Stevens County Sheriff’s Office staff to implement the Total Response solution. “The implementation and training went extremely well,” said Stevens County 911 Supervisor Rick Anderson, “Total Response will be making a significant difference to our community for years to come.”
With Total Response, telecommunicators train to use a proven approach following dynamic incident-based call-handling protocols rather than rigid checklist style protocols that confuse or frustrate callers. Emergency responders receive critical information from each call through the software interface prior to their arrival on scene.
911 telecommunicators also issue pre-arrival instructions to callers, when appropriate, to render life-saving instructions (such as how to perform CPR or the Heimlich maneuver) or otherwise best prepare the incident scene for responders to arrive (through actions such as unlocking doors, turning on lights, etc.). Pre-arrival instructions help callers and responders from the moment of dispatch until responders arrive at the incident scene.
PowerPhone also supplied Stevens County Administrators and Supervisors with advanced training to support emergency call-handling management, call assessment and reporting. Supervisor training sessions prepare agency leaders to monitor and refine processes as necessary to create higher emergency call-handling standards.
Total Response’s Call Assessment empowers supervisors to make highly-informed decisions while reviewing the effectiveness of the agency’s processes. Call Assessment lets agency management clearly evaluate training and staffing needs to create a culture of ongoing improvement to help achieve a higher standard of care.
