A 9-1-1 dispatch desk.
Credit: County of Bucks
Imagine calling 9-1-1 during an emergency and the person who takes your call already has your vital information on their computer screen.
A photo, medical information, and other key stats might help police, ambulance personnel, and firefighters who are dispatched to where you are having an emergency.
The Bucks County Commissioners and the Bucks County Emergency Communications Department stated in a press release that they have partnered with Smart911 to engage in a new program that will allow for residents to activate a profile that will give dispatchers as much or as little information as they want.
When a resident makes an account, the profile can be customized, officials said.
Only dispatchers and other emergency personnel can view the information once a 9-1-1 call is received. At all other times, the information is secure in a profile.
“If your elderly father with Alzheimer’s and a history of wandering lives with you, adding his photo to Smart911 allows dispatchers to distribute that photo to emergency personnel as soon as you call 9-1-1,” said Audrey Kenny, director of Bucks County Emergency Communications. “If your daughter has a severe peanut allergy, adding that medical information to Smart911 could give precious moments to the Emergency Medical personnel who won’t have to ask as many questions before beginning treatment.”
The new program also adds a partnership with RapidSOS. The partnership will allow 9-1-1 callers to enter their home address, work address, and possibly that of a church or community center where free time is spent so dispatchers can easier locate them.
The FCC has data showing roughly 180 million mobile calls are placed to 9-1-1, and more than 10,000 lives have been lost when those cell phone customers cannot be located.
The RapidSOS partnership will help close the gap in an attempt to make locating callers easier.
“Smart911 is currently available in 40 states and more than 1,500 municipalities across the country, and has been credited with positively impacting emergency outcomes including a missing child in which the girls photo and physical description were immediately available to 9-1-1 and responders, as well as a heart attack victim where an address and medical notes allowed responders to be dispatched to his location quickly,” the county said in their press release.
Officials encouraged resident to create an account at https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/login.action?pa=buckscounty.
