Dispatchers at the Allen County’s 911 center soon will have high-tech advantage when they help people facing an emergency.
County commissioners Tuesday morning authorized expenditure of $70,539 to purchase programs that will permit dispatchers to respond quickly with recommendations to medical and fire calls.
Angela Murphy, 911 director, said the upgrade could save lives.
Recently she and Dick Works, commission chairman, visited Labette County’s 911 center in Oswego, which has the enhanced programming. They sat in on a call involving a child with medical problems that was answered with thorough instructions in a little over two minutes.
“It would have taken our dispatchers six or seven minutes to give the same information,” said Murphy.
For the past 15 years local dispatchers have had to manually manipulate flip charts to find the correct questions to ask in a medical emergency, and then track down correct responses. With the computer programs, all information will be on screens of dispatchers sitting side-by-side and will pop onto terminals at the click of a mouse.
Works said at an earlier meeting he was skeptical about purchasing the programs, but was convinced after the Oswego visit.
The money will come from the county’s 911 fund, which contains about $160,000 accumulated from monthly 53-cent surcharges on telephone bills.
Commissioners agreed to request a study of the county ambulance service by the Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Services.
Members of the committee formed to study county and Iola ambulance services, in an effort to bring the two together, asked for the studies, which officially have to be sought by the parent governing body. Iola council members discussed a state study briefly Monday night, but didn’t vote to ask for one.
TRASH receptacles on the courthouse lawn will be upgraded.
Ron Holman, maintenance director, said new ones would cost $300 to $800 each, and “I can refurbish the ones we have for a lot less.”
Also, he said the parking area along the north side of the courthouse would be spruced up.
Bill King, director of Public Works, said an oil slurry would seal and darken the parking areas and make them look better. They also will be restriped.
King handed commissioners bids for several things.
