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EMD program approved by county

Marion County dispatchers will be trained for medical emergencies.

County emergency management director Michele Abbott-Becker presented information Monday to Marion County Commission about an opportunity for county dispatchers to receive free training and instructional materials if the county hosted a training session.

Abbott-Becker said the value of the training and materials was probably $7,000-$8,000.

She needed a commitment from the commission regarding the county's willingness to keep the training current through periodical re-certification and to train new employees.

Abbott-Becker also had concerns about shifts with only one dispatcher. She said the specialized medical instructions only would be used when there were two dispatchers or when a dispatcher was "comfortable" in providing the information and answering incoming calls.

County commissioner Dan Holub asked if local doctors and registered nurses could be utilized to assist dispatchers. Abbott-Becker said medical personnel wouldn't be available every time the dispatch received a call for assistance.

Darryl Thiesen, county emergency medical services director, said he had seen it in action at the Harvey County dispatch office and was impressed.

Despite the services only being provided with two dispatchers, Abbott-Becker said it put the county ahead of where it is now.

Abbott-Becker was instructed by Holub to check with the two hospitals in the county for assistance.

Commissioner Randy Dallke said not every nurse is trained for medical emergencies.

Thiesen agreed that emergency medicine was different from other services.

Emergency medical dispatching

A fire engine or ambulance doesn't have to be the first unit on the scene of a medical emergency. The concept of emergency medical dispatching (EMD) is for a dispatcher to provide assistance by telephone within milliseconds of the call for help.

Three parts of EMD are:

1) Triage in-coming requests for medical services to determine the level of response. It will be determined if there is no response needed, non-emergency transport, or emergency transport.

2) Providing pre-arrival instructions to callers so assistance can be immediately provided to victims.

3) Quality assurance. Each EMD program must have complete involvement and cooperation of local emergency medical officials.

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