County Fire Dispatchers Ranking 911 Medical Calls

In an effort to slash response times, county fire dispatchers are prioritizing medical 911 calls, differentiating between the scraped knees and the massive heart attacks before sending out an emergency crew.

It’s a dramatic change from the way ambulance and fire crews have dispatched in the past. Typically, all calls went out as a Code 3--full speed ahead with lights and sirens blaring--even if the emergency was nothing more than someone stuck at home with a nasty flu bug.

“People call for reasons like that,” said Natalie Chronister, public safety dispatcher. “They’re sick and no one has visited them in awhile. A lot of people just want someone to talk to.”

Such calls are a drain on resources of the county Fire Department and ambulance companies. With only a limited number of emergency crews available to answer the 36,000 calls for help the county receives annually, the question of who has the real emergency is critical.

The Ventura County Fire Department is one of only a handful of departments in Southern California to use the priority call system.

Most Los Angeles County fire departments still operate under the old system, responding to every 911 call as an emergency. Only the Long Beach and West Covina fire departments prioritize calls. But Ventura County Fire Chief Bob Roper believes more departments will have to start prioritizing calls just to stay on top of emergencies.

“I see this as becoming a national trend,” Roper said. “Populations keep increasing, and at the same time we aren’t adding a lot of resources in our system. This is one way to keep up.”

Dispatchers underwent an extra eight hours of training last year to learn how to prioritize a call, learning key questions to help determine the difference between an upset stomach and something more serious.

Dispatchers have 30 seconds to determine whether a caller has a Priority 1 emergency--lights and sirens--or a Priority 2 call--drive to the scene obeying posted speed limits.

It can be a lot of pressure, say dispatchers, who are used to treating every call like a dire emergency. What if they assess a call as Priority 2 and it turns out to be a true emergency?

“Yeah, it was weird at first,” said Chronister, who has been prioritizing calls since September. “But now, its OK. If I’m talking to someone with a broken ankle, sometimes you can hear them laughing and chatting in the background. You know that’s a lower priority call.”

Chronister said dispatchers have enough discretion so that even if training manuals indicate a call should be a low priority, they can still send out an ambulance Code 3. That is what most dispatchers say they would do if there is any doubt about a call.

“You know how you just get a feeling about something,” Chronister said. “If you just get a feeling this is an emergency, then you can send it out as an emergency.”

The program has been in the research and planning stages for four years, said Supervisor Frank Schillo, who was at the county fire communications center in Camarillo Friday to showcase the new system.

Schillo said he and Roper began looking for ways to improve response times after residents complained that it was taking too long for an ambulance to get to their home.

Most ambulance companies are required to respond within 10 minutes. That response time is now mandated at eight minutes, Schillo said.

The requirements are tougher for fire crews, who are allowed five minutes to respond.

With the help of a state grant, fire officials created a plan to streamline response times still further.

Fire officials began preparing for the switch to prioritize calls almost from the beginning. Dispatchers began assessing calls four years ago, with the goal of offering instructions in medical aid that could be administered while ambulance and fire crews were en route. The program was known as the Emergency Medical Dispatch Program.

“This is just taking that program a step further,” said Julie Frey, assistant administrator for Ventura County Public Health.

Prioritizing calls will also make county roads safer, officials say. With fewer emergency crews running stop signs and traffic lights to get to an emergency, the chances for run-ins with other motorists decrease.

“We have about one accident per year trying to respond to emergencies,” said Sandi Wells, chief public information officer for the Ventura County Fire Department.

In the four months since the department has been prioritizing calls, Code 3 responses have dropped as much as 10%, Wells said.

But the biggest benefit, Roper emphasized, is that crews won’t be needlessly sidetracked rushing to minor bumps and bruises when they could be rushing to save a life.

“The bottom line,” Roper said, “is that the citizen who needs help will get that help faster.”