McGinnis. “We have no way of knowing any of that quickly and accu- rately today.” Equipping dispatchers and EMS with such information improves decision- making and buys crucial time for severely ill or injured patients. “Every minute counts in terms of survivability or increased function,” says Gainor. She stresses that data flowing into 911 will be sorted, prioritized and sent only to the appropriate fire, police or EMS responder. Upgrading the emergency response system also supports more reliable public service during a natural disaster or other major emergencies. Overloaded NG911 call centers will automatically re-route calls to other PSAPs. center was evacuated. Instead of unanswered 911 calls, other PSAPs took over. “The system was able to dis- tribute the load throughout Vermont, meaning every 911 call was answered swiftly,” says Jim Lipinski, former En- hanced 911 IT manager for Vermont, one of the first states with a statewide NG911 system. When Hurricane Irene struck Ver- mont, the state’s second-busiest call
call to be routed to a 911 operator. That time has been reduced to less than three seconds since implementing NG911, according toMark Grady, founder of IN- digital Telecom, which provides NG911 technology to the state. Grady notes that in an emergency, “If you’re waiting Faster help also means taking more of the guesswork out of an emergency response and en- hancing situational awareness for EMS. for someone to take a call, things can go sideways on you pretty quick.” Faster help also means taking more of the guesswork out of an emergency response and enhancing situational awareness for EMS. “We wonder our way through calls. We wonder how severe it is, if a helicopter is available, if a trauma center is available,” says
with sensors could automatically transmit its location to a PSAP, as well as data such as the velocity of impact and the likelihood of injury. Currently, privately operated systems like OnStar receive the data through their own dispatch centers and verbally relay it to 911 call centers. NG911 could streamline that process and improve information accuracy. “It would speed getting the crash data directly to PSAPs without verbally transferring the information,” explains Dr. Paul Stiegler, Medical Director for OnStar and for the Dane County Public Safety 911 Communications Center in Wisconsin. In remote areas, a more precise location could shave crucial minutes off the time it takes to discover where a car crashed. “The typical discovery time is 11 to 45 minutes,” says KevinMcGinnis, Com- munications Technology Advisor for NASEMSO. “With data transmitted, that (discovery time) could be cut down to a minute.”
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ENHANCING SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
Before NG911, Indiana residents dial- ing 911 waited 23 to 27 seconds for the
8 NG911
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