Welcome to the fourth issue of the Annals of Emergency Dispatch & Response. We have reached our second birthday going strong: this issue contains the most overall papers, the broadest scope of topics, the most diverse group of authors, and the most peer-reviewed research of any issue so far. Perhaps even more importantly, putting out our fourth issue makes us eligible for listing in online research databases. We’ll be more visible, more accessible, and more citable than ever.
While teaching a Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS®) refresher course in Canton, Illinois, USA, at the Canton County Sheriff's Office Dispatch Center, I was asked an interesting question by a student: "What do you do when a second party caller doesn't know the answer to your questions?" The student's question was inspired by a recent investigation request from the 911 center's local fire department involving a case dispatched as a BRAVO-level response to a fall patient. Emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs) use the MPDS to assign response determinant codes to incidents based...
Addison's disease is a rare, chronic condition brought on by failure of the adrenal glands, affecting people of all ages. It affects the production of cortisol and aldosterone, both essential in the body's functioning. A very low level of cortisol can be life threatening, since cortisol regulates blood pressure and the immune system, balances the effect of insulin, and helps the body respond to stress. Aldosterone helps to control blood pressure and regulate salts in the blood. Symptoms of this disease usually include a general feeling of being unwell, lethargy and fatigue...
The extent of fire emergencies in our communities is of great concern, not only to the public, but to the nation's fire departments, whose role is not only to respond to them, but to mitigate and, even earlier, to prevent them. The variety of types of fire-related emergencies reported to 911 is of significant interest to this ongoing mandate. The aim of this study was to characterize the distribution of calls handled using a Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS™) in the studied agencies. This was a retrospective and non-controlled descriptive study...
Time-to-dispatch in a 911 center continues to be a topic of much discussion in public safety. This study represents a first attempt to classify a subset of time-todispatch, call prioritization time, the time required to gather critical information prior to dispatching the call. The study characterizes call prioritization time in two Police dispatching agencies by determining overall median call prioritization time for all Chief Complaints (CCs) in the agencies studied, then by determining specific call prioritization times for the top five most commonly-used CCs...
This study examined the distribution of the MPDS® Chief Complaint protocols and determinant codes assigned by the EMD as eligible for nurse triage, as well as the distribution of the Chief Complaint protocols contained in the Emergency Communications Nurse System™ (ECNS™) secondary nurse triage process, as determined by the emergency communications nurse (ECN). Protocol distribution was also examined by patient gender. This study characterized protocol and gender distributions to provide a better understanding of the types of patients and their associated...
"Convergence behavior" is the informal, spontaneous movement of people, messages, and supplies toward a major emergency incident area. This form of movement brings needed aid to many victims, but at the same time the resultant congestion makes organization and control of the rescue and relief efforts more difficult. Whenever a major emergency incident occurs in Kenya, typically a huge crowd of sightseers and personnel converge at the scene. This report provides a review of informal convergence behavior in Kenya during major emergency incidents over the last 15 years (1998-2013) and...
Clinical call handlers use a clinical decision support software system (CDSS) called the Emergency Communication Nurse System™ (ECNS™) to further triage calls considered eligible for secondary triage post the interaction the patient or caller had with the Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD). EMDs use a primary emergency triage system called Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS®) to triage callers accessing 911 services. This call involved a teenage boy calling 999 in England, UK, on behalf of his friend (also a teenage boy) who was stung on the palmar side of his right wrist by...
BACKGROUND As a premier body of EMS professionals, The National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) appoints, through its Standards and Practice (S & P) Committee, interested members who are experts, or want to develop expertise in related aspects of EMS. These members are designated to develop position statements on EMS topics of interest to them and of importance to the field. These draft position statements are then critiqued by the members of the S & P Committee, and alterations made in response to concerns and subsequent recommendations of the Committee members. The chair...
