NorthStar EMS
Company: NorthStar EMS, Tuscaloosa, AL
Company Description: Founded April 1, 1992, NEMS is Alabama’s premier ambulance serving eight counties. NEMS provides a full range of medical transportation services: Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Life Support (ALS),Specialty Care Transport (SCT), Neonatal transportation, stretcher/wheelchair van services, EMS education, billing, dispatch and EMS consultation services.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Use of Technology in Customer Service
Nomination Title: Saving Lives - The Ultimate Customer Service Experience
Tell the story about how technology has improved your customer service initiatives since the beginning of July 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
When an emergency occurs, most individuals will call 9-1-1 for help. The 9-1-1 Dispatcher becomes the first point of contact during a medical crisis and in that moment, has the ability to control that moment in order to initiate a quick EMS response and help the patient. Dispatchers are trained to quickly ask key questions to determine the exact location to send help. Additionally, many are trained to provide medical instructions to the caller on what to do for the patient until the EMS crew arrives. However, not all 9-1-1 Dispatchers are trained to the same standards.
To this end, NorthStar EMS sought to achieve accreditation by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) as an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE). The IAED has created the EMS industry's "Gold Standard" when it comes to Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD). In 1988, the original National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch (NAEMD) was formed as a standard-setting organization for all aspects of Emergency Medical Dispatch.
The NAEMD was established as not just an association, but an academic Academy-setting it apart from many other EMS and public safety organizations that function primarily as membership, interest, and lobby groups. With an academic organization of top experts the Academy became an authoritative voice for emergency dispatch. Standards for how the 911 calls should be answered and prioritized, identifying questions for determining the medical problem, and providing medically sound instructions prior to the arrival of the EMS Teams are developed by using scientific principles constantly being reviewed and updated as needed.
To accomplish this goal required the following:
1. Provide training for Communications Center Personnel in Emergency Medical Dispatch. Training took 3 days ending in an exhaustive examination process. Successful completion resulted in personnel becoming "certified" as Emergency Medical Dispatchers.
2. Computer equipment/servers were updated with EMD software. The software is activated once a 9-1-1 call is received. It is designed to guide the Call-taker in asking standardized questions to initiate an EMS response and provide appropriate medical instructions based on the medical complaint; ranging from initiating CPR, controlling bleeding to delivering a baby.
3. Implement Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Initiatives - the accreditation process demands compliance to meeting Emergency Medical Dispatch standards. Communications Center Personnel have to meet 90%-95% compliance in asking the correct question and providing the correct instructions. The Center has a CQI personnel who listen to 9-1-1 tapes and compare the actual caller interaction to the expected standards.
There are over 17,000 EMS agencies across the United States, but only 127 of them have EMS Communications Centers that are accredited. NorthStar EMS is now one of these centers managing over 40,000 9-1-1 calls each year.
EMS is all about taking care of people in their time of need. It is critical that 9-1-1 Centers have a standardized (protocol driven) process to manage calls that affect a quick dispatch of the "RIGHT" EMS resources to the "RIGHT" place in the "RIGHT" response mode with regard to the safety of the public and the responders.
NorthStar EMS is in the business of saving lives. Emergency Medical Dispatch is an additional tool in our arsenal to accomplish this goal every day!
Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated customer service organization:
Mr. Rich Schreiber is the Communications Center Supervisor for NorthStar EMS. He is responsible for ensuring the integrity of all dispatch functions to include call processing, ACE requirements, and ambulance deployment strategies to minimize emergency response times. He serves as a liaison between the Communications Center and the EMS Field Operations Team providing guidance to enhance critical communications during an emergency response. A 21 year veteran of Emergency Medical Services, Mr. Schreiber is an EMT-Paramedic and Certified Emergency Medical Dispatcher. He holds an AA degree from Western International University. He is a certified Fire and EMS Instructor.