For years, the Prince William County Office of Public Safety Communications has been convinced that the extra medical training it gives to dispatchers means the difference between life and death for county residents.
On Thursday, the agency was recognized by the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) for being the first in the region to be accredited as an emergency medical dispatch site, trained to instruct 911 callers over the phone whether the emergency involves a gunshot wound or a heart attack victim.
Although the dispatcher is not in the home, he or she is virtually the "first" first responder at the scene. With enhanced training, they can help provide basic care to a patient before an ambulance arrives, said Ken Crumpler, communications coordinator for OEMS.
"There have been many, many documented cases where it saved a life," Crumpler said. "There was always a need for it."
Prince William is one of four dispatch centers in Virginia currently recognized for having an emergency medical dispatch plan in place.
Capt. Fred Miller, director of the Office of Public Safety Communications, said his agency has operated as an emergency medical dispatch center for seven years.
Dispatchers in his office use materials furnished by the Association of Public Communications Officers, International, which provides care instructions for every medical emergency imaginable, Miller said.
His office also has Spanish-speaking dispatchers available to meet the needs of the county's growing Hispanic population. But sometimes there are not enough bilingual dispatchers to work each shift. In those cases, Miller said, his office has a contract with a company that acts as an intermediary and translates the call.
It all takes just seconds and the quality of service is not compromised, Miller said.
"It improves the quality of care and improves the chances that you will have a positive outcome in a medical emergency. Seconds count," Miller said.
When the state accreditation program started this year, Miller said his office exceeded the standard requirements.
For a dispatch office to be accredited, at least 25 percent of its communications personnel must be certified as an emergency medical dispatchers and one person must be certified as an emergency medical instructor. A quality assurance and improvement program must also be in place, and a report must be submitted each year, guidelines stipulate.
Miller said he plans to incorporate a new system soon that will provide standard police and fire emergency guidelines for his dispatchers, as well.
"We want to try to standardized these as much as possible," Miller said.
