Maine Dispatchers Offered Medical Class

In a move championed by the American Heart Association, every police dispatcher in Maine's 45 major public safety answering centers soon will have training to coach callers through medical emergencies while an ambulance is on the way.

Some departments long ago voluntarily began emergency medical dispatch training, but there are about 15 agencies in the state, including the regional dispatch centers in Piscataquis and Hancock counties, that haven't had the specialized training because of costs.

Now they must do so because of federal law.

Maine is the 20th state in the nation to adopt the mandatory training standards for Enhanced 911 dispatchers, according to Steve Bunker, the state's 911 operations manager. The heart association has been promoting the training because it believes the communication with dispatchers saves lives.

The state Emergency Service Communications Bureau will offer and pay for three-day training classes in 12 locations throughout the state in December.

"The specialized three-day class teaches them a very defined set of protocols - medically approved protocols - that give the dispatcher lifesaving coaching that they offer the caller while the ambulance is en route," Bunker said Thursday.

He said the training is designed to make the quality of medical coaching uniform throughout the state.

The dispatchers who will receive the training are employed in so-called "public safety answering points," which are facilities with Enhanced 911 capability such as those used by Maine State Police, county sheriffs' departments, and police departments in larger communities, all of which operate on a 24-hour basis.

There are about 750 full-time 911 call-takers in the state, and an additional 200 part-time dispatchers, according to Bunker. Of that, about a third will receive the training to get their two-year certification.

The training costs are borne through the 50-cent monthly line charge added to telephone bills. About 3 cents of that half dollar is invested in training and professional development for dispatchers, Bunker said.

That money is a wise investment, said Sgt. Tom Harvey of the Piscataquis County Communications Center.

He said the training helps dispatchers determine the level of response that is needed for a victim.

"It's actually a service people perceive we have and we haven't had," Harvey said Thursday. Harvey said he took the training a few years ago but let his certification lapse because the department didn't have all the needed equipment.

In Hancock County, Linda Dunno, director of the regional communication center, said the training is long overdue. "It's a great service to be able to give to our residents in Hancock and our visitors," she said Thursday.

Dunno believes it was the cost and the misconception that the offering could be a liability issue that prevented her department and possibly others from participating in earlier years.

"I think it's a giant step forward that Maine has decided to do this ," Dunno said.

One of those agencies whose dispatchers are already trained as emergency medical dispatchers is the Penobscot Regional Communications Center.

Its successes are many, according to Liz Tilley, communications supervisor.

Tilley said dispatchers have helped callers give cardiopulmonary resuscitation and provided help to mothers in labor and to victims suffering from cuts.

"We're saving lives for sure," she said Thursday

Without being physically there, dispatchers are "first on the scene," so even the littlest coaching on what steps the caller can take to help the victim are good, she said.

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