Milford dispatchers employ new system
Meggan Clark , Register Staff 03/04/2004
MILFORD — It generally takes the Milford Fire Department about three to eight minutes to respond to a 911 call.

Considering that irreversible brain damage begins about six minutes after the heart stops, that’s a long time.

But the department has recently instituted a new emergency dispatch system that — without using jet fuel to power the department’s ambulances — will get help to patients in seconds.

As of July 1, 2004, all Connecticut dispatch centers will be required by law to use the Emergency Medical Dispatch system, which utilizes trained dispatchers to instruct callers over the phone on how to perform CPR, the Heimlich maneuver, and basic life support until paramedics arrive.

Milford instituted the system in November.

Now, every time a 911 call is made, the caller becomes an integral link in the chain of treatment.

"When you call 911 … we instruct you over the phone what to do," said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Mohr. "Before, dispatchers weren’t allowed to give medical advice over the phone."

The system may already have helped save some lives.

Very recently, said Emergency Operations Center Coordinator Daniel Woroll Jr., a hysterical caller reported a person who was unconscious, apparently from a heart attack or similar emergency. The dispatcher was able to direct the caller to open the victim’s airway to facilitate breathing — one to two minutes before paramedics arrived.

Dispatchers use a series of organized cards to help them make decisions on how to advise callers.

Although some callers don’t want to give medical treatment — and the dispatchers can’t force them to — other frantic callers find it calming to be able to do something.

It can make a world of difference to patients.

The system has a second benefit, for the taxpayers and motorists of Milford. Before, Milford sent a fill response — a truck and an ambulance, lights on and sirens blaring — to nearly every medical call, even a broken ankle. Not only did that create wear and tear on vehicles, it also had the potential to get the city into legal trouble if a responding vehicle got into a crash and injured someone.

Now, Milford doesn’t send paramedics to take care of sprained ankles. Using a series of diagnostic questions, dispatchers assess the seriousness of each call before and after dispatching vehicles.

The upshot is that there may be fewer sirens blaring in the city of Milford, Worroll said.

But when a real emergency does happen, help is closer than ever.

Meggan Clark can be reached at 876-6800 or by e-mail at mclark@nhregister.com.

İNew Haven Register 2004