Officials Study Plan for Centralized System to Handle Emergency Calls

In an effort to cut ambulance response times and better prioritize emergencies, authorities from across the county agreed Wednesday to consider centralizing the way they handle 911 calls.

During Wednesday’s brainstorming session at the County Government Center in Ventura, County Supervisor Frank Schillo cited a need “to tie people together some way so we can cut down that crucial time.”

In some cases, dispatchers make three calls before an ambulance actually leaves for an emergency, costing authorities precious seconds in their rescue response.

Schillo, a strong backer of centralizing emergency services, dismissed creation of a central dispatch station as too costly. Instead, Schillo and the dozen public safety and emergency response officials said they will find ways to streamline the way ambulances are dispatched by phone.

Under the plan, a computer program would ensure “one-stop shopping” for 911 calls, sending the information to all concerned agencies virtually instantaneously.

“I haven’t heard anyone who’s against it,” said Annette Allen, a communications supervisor with Ventura’s police and fire departments. “Unfortunately, it’s a matter of money.”

Hooking up all the county agencies to such a system could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Allen said, because the public safety and emergency response agencies all operate on different computer systems.

There was no discussion of where funding to carry out such a plan could be obtained.

Dr. David Chase, medical director of the county’s Emergency Services, said ambulance companies are required by contract to respond to emergency calls within 10 minutes. Chase estimated that a centralized dispatch process would lower response times by a minimum of 30 seconds, which he said can be critical in some situations.

Chase and others also suggested that authorities develop plans to better use the available ambulances. Three ambulance companies provide service in the county, but officials said the vehicles closest to an emergency situation are not always the ones dispatched.

“Currently, there is not really a policy in place to divert ambulances to higher priority calls,” Chase said. “If you have a call that is not life-threatening, there should be a set policy to divert the ambulance to a call [that is life-threatening].”

Some at the meeting doubted that centralizing dispatch services would lower response times in their communities.

But Mark Hanson, a Santa Paula police commander, said he can recall two deaths over the past 15 years resulting from dispatch errors. He said streamlining the way calls are handled might help save lives.

“It eliminates another step,” Hanson said. “We have a system which is fallible.”

The group agreed to meet again Nov. 1 to continue discussing the issue.