Trumbull County 911's new public safety call-handling solution, Total Response, incorporates emergency call-handling protocols into all calls for service. Realizing that approximately 70% of all 911 calls are not medically related, Trumbull County 911 in Ohio wanted to have a solution that not only helped them meet the Ohio Emergency Medical Dispatch mandate, but exceeded it by incorporating better support for law enforcement and fire service dispatch.

PowerPhone's user-friendly Total Response solution is made to maximize call-handling efficiency and effectiveness with a single protocol database that focuses on the incident. CACH (Computer-Aided Call-Handling) Software is a protocol tool within Total Response that supports live call taking, supervision, retrospective call review, and reporting.

"The use of protocols will immensely help our staff," says Operations Manager Rodger Laird. "The dispatchers will be able to ask the right questions on a constant basis for each incident that the caller is reporting. Over time, the repetitiveness of this process will decrease dispatch times." Laird also predicts efficiencies to reduce the overall time spent on each call and to help with the training of new staff.

"This is something new not only for our dispatchers, but for all residents of Trumbull County," says Director Ernie Cook. "Patient care will now begin with the phone call instead of waiting for an ambulance to arrive."

"Our main goal was to find a product that integrated with our ID Networks CAD. We did not want to have a dispatcher flipping through cards while trying to talk to a caller and entering information at the same time into the CAD," says Laird. "After having demonstrations and on-site visits with other vendors, we selected PowerPhone because it gives us the capability we were looking for."

Laird says Total Response also provides, "a cost-effective way of certifying our dispatchers" in emergency medical, fire service, and law enforcement dispatch. Certification includes a theory component and a foundation component that guides dispatchers through the Total Response call-taking formula preparing them to use the technology and processes. Students also demonstrate their proficiency in a role-playing practicum with a PowerPhone instructor. With this solution, the service provided to the responders and the community will improve.

For more information, visit www.PowerPhone.com.