Issue Archive: August 2006

El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1: Taking Training and Motivation to a New Level

El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 is a unique system in the 9-1-1 dispatch world. Not only because it encompasses 10 PSAPs, with almost 200 call takers that dispatch for a combined area covering 2,678 square miles for 32 agencies and well over a half a million citizens, but also because it provides all of those PSAPs with the following services:

• Asset and contract administration
• Computers and software for PSAPs to include furniture and phone systems
• Testing equipment for PSAPs to assist in the hiring process
• Computer repair and upgrades
• Agency support of regional CAD
• Public education including schools, neighborhood watch, and elderly and deaf communities
• Continuing education and CPR certification for all call takers and dispatchers, initial and continuing emergency (medical, police and fire) education
• Quality assurance for call takers
• Introduction public safety dispatch training academy
• Mapping (GIS) services and computer support
• Web site management and media releases

When 9-1-1 began in the two counties, there was a single PSAP-The Emergency Response Center-with only basic 9-1-1 service. El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 was developed in 1990 when an intergovernmental agreement was signed by 31 agencies in the area. A 9-1-1 authority board was established to govern the agreement. The El Paso-Teller County Authority Board is comprised of nine members. Three members are appointed by the Colorado Springs City Council to represent the City. One member is appointed to represent Teller County. Two appointments are made by the El Paso County Commissioners, and they represent El Paso County at Large. The remaining three members are appointed by the Authority Board to represent cities, towns, military and special districts. New board members, interviewed and elected by the standing members, serve a three-year term for up to two consecutive terms. A contract was granted in 1995 to current systems manager James Anderson to oversee the day-today operation of the 9-1-1 system using only the $0.70 tariff on all phone bills to provide all that is needed for the 9-1-1 communications center. Anderson took on this task as a one man entity. Between the years of 1990 and 1996, and with the emergence of Enhanced 9-1-1 technology providing the location of the 9-1-1 caller, not just a phone number, the single PSAP multiplied into 10 PSAPs. This allowed the call to be sent to the correct response area communications center without the time delay of having to be transferred from a single answering point. With the help of James Anderson of JKA Consulting LLC (Colorado Springs, CO), the 9-1-1 system has grown into what it is today in the 10 years since the decentralization of dispatch. Anderson now has 10 employees providing what is needed to give the call takers/dispatchers the training and equipment essential to get help to 9-1-1 callers for all their police, fire and medical needs.

Some of the technologies and systems used by the call takers and dispatchers to obtain pertinent information in 9-1-1 call as well as location and response area are:

• Hitech CAD (Los Angeles, CA)
• Tritech CAD (San Diego, CA)
• Contact Map (Computer Mapping) (Austin, TX)
• NAED (National Academy of Emergency Dispatch) protocol card sets and computer software (Salt Lake City, UT)
• Nine One One, Inc. (9-1-1 Software) (Denver, CO)

The Training  Academy

Working with 10 PSAPs can be challenging, especially when it comes to training. There are almost 200 call takers/dispatchers employed within the 10 communication centers. The range of employees and what agencies are dispatched out of those communications centers varies from center to center. El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 offers several different methods and means of training such as New-hireTraining Academies, weekly training bulletins, around-the-clock classes and DVDbased training classes.

The New- hire Training Academies taught at El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 are led by 9-1-1 Protocol Training Specialist, Troy Pring and Quality Assurance Analyst, Jeff Craig. Although the new employees are trained at El Paso-Teller E9-1-1, they are hired by each individual PSAP. However, some of the computer testing programs, such as typing and data entry ability that are used during the hiring process are also used at the El Paso-Teller E9-1-1 facility. Up to three weeks in length and customized for individual agencies, the PSAPs in the El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 system use the 9-1-1 call taker/dispatch protocols from the NAED. These protocols address different types of 9-1-1 communications centers from a single person answering the calls and also dispatching them, to a designated call taker-only position with others dispatching the responders. “Bringing the trainees together in one forum offers all the agencies, but especially the smaller communications centers, the opportunity for consistent classroom type training,” says Anderson.

Because some agencies are not able to provide classroom training to their newly hired employees due to staffing shortages or budget, these training academies provide the initial training needed to begin a career in 9-1-1. During the basic telecommunications aspect of this training, new hires are in class with employees from some or all of the 10 PSAPS. This offers a great opportunity to the trainers at El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 to emphasize interagency respect. There is an invisible wall between agencies; getting to know each other not only by name, but face-to-face is essential in obtaining and holding onto respect. According to Craig, “Training all call takers and dispatchers in a central arena ensures continuity in their knowledge. This also ensures that the citizens in all of our communities receive the best care possible by competent, motivated and certified employees.” Other classes include: shift awareness, which teaches people new to the industry some healthy ways to approach eating and sleeping habits while working non-traditional work hours; call screen data entry to teach people to start thinking about what they type into the CAD screen when they take 9-1-1 calls, while learning how to use the various police, fire and medical protocols; and learning to talk to suicidal callers showing different strategies for different situations. “El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 sponsors a Public Safety Communications Training Program every other month with the goal of this program to have consistency and to reduce the high level of stress that is associated with working as a professional in the 9-1-1 field. By reducing the stress level, the goal is to be able to retain quality, trained employees for a longer period of time. In addition, the training program provides the 9-1-1 telecommunicators with information on handling specific types of 9-1-1 calls,” says Pring. In addition, since CPR certification is a requirement for employment in all of the PSAPs, this course is provided during the academies, along with re-certification classes and testing for the veteran employee.

Along with the training academies, Pring and Craig provide weekly training bulletins via e-mail to all the supervisors at the PSAPs. These bulletins focus on anything from common calls for service, such as a chest pain patient, to common mistakes being made system-wide. These bulletins serve as reminders of why a protocol flows the way it does or address certain dos or don’ts, such as why you should maintain the airway of an unconscious person. These can be addressed as continuing dispatch education during lineups in the individual communications centers.

When a PSAP adopts a new protocol, many hours of training are needed to be certified. Around-the-clock classes have been offered to better the different shifts. This helps with daycare and other day to day issues.

El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1’s in-house training has been successful when it comes to responder training.  Pring and Craig have produced DVD-based training that has been given to all of the Colorado Springs Fire Department. The training was set up ‘LIVE,’ and was broadcast out to all the fire stations. Processing calls for service was explained and fire fighters were able to call in their questions and get answers directly. The training was put on a DVD for anyone to review. More of this type of training is being composed for updates to the medical protocols along with producing a similar program for police officers. Mary Lou Lucero, a 16-year veteran call taker with the Colorado Springs Police and Fire Department says, “The training I received at the E9-1-1 facility was phenomenal. With all their up to date books, manuals and videos being very helpful with my understanding and learning even more of what we do as 9-1-1 call takers on a daily basis. Plus, the atmosphere and trainers are great. If you do not understand something, they are quick to help you understand.”

Special Programs

El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 not only provides excellent training, it also gives incentives to call takers. A gift for each PSAP employee on 9-1-1 Emergency Number Day—September 11—is used to remind employees how special and needed they are. “Attaboys” in dispatch are not an everyday occurrence due to the obvious nature of the job. Small tokens of appreciation and recognition are needed to remind the employee that they are the reason the system works. Some of the gifts given to the employees of the 10  PSAPs have been apparel, travel mugs, lunch coolers and travel bags.

A program called Telecommunicator of the Quart e r has also been established. Anyone in any of the PSAPs can nominate one call taker or dispatcher for his or her outstanding performance. Four times per year, the PSAP managers collectively vote on the nominations received. The winner of each quarter gets a trophy and a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant. After the last quarter, the yearly winner receives another trophy and gets sent to the national conference of their choice. This program not only recognizes the above and beyond performances of employees quarterly, but promotes a better understanding of the 9-1-1 system as a whole by having someone other than a supervisor or manager attend a national conference. This experience is not only worthwhile for the attendee, but for the coworkers that benefit from the shared knowledge received after the conference.

During 2005, 516 people went through the El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 facility doors, whether it was for new-hire training academies, continuing education or testing during the hiring process for any of the PSAPs. El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 is constantly striving to promote new ways to motivate and train the employees of the 10 PSAPs for which it works. Having dedicated trainers that do not have to find time off the console to instruct new employees has been a measurable plus to the communication centers. Elizabeth Brown, assistant communications manager of El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says, “The El Paso-Teller County E9-1-1 Authority continually strives to provide quality, informative training. Their instructors are highly skilled professionals who possess a clear understanding of the training needs of our personnel. They are highly motivated and willing to modify their schedules to accommodate all shifts. It is a pleasure to work hand-in-hand with the personnel of the El Paso-Teller E9-1-1 Authority.”

Connie Chavez is the public education specialist for El Paso- Teller County E9-1-1. She has lived in Colorado Springs for the last 15 years and has worked in local public safety as an emergency  response technician and fire department dispatcher for Colorado Springs for the last four years. Connie’s duties are making 9-1-1 presentations to local organizations, including schools, senior citizens, health fairs, neighborhood watches and any other organization requesting education on the local 9-1-1 system. Connie continues to work with the 10 PSAPs to help them meet their public educational goals. She can be reached at cchavez@pcisys.net.