By Fay Abrahamsson
Published on 1/5/2006
Madison-Madison may soon join forces with Guilford in more ways than one.
At its Dec. 19 meeting, the Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed to approve a regionalization of Madison's emergency medical dispatch operation with Guilford's.
It all started back in July 2004, said North Madison Volunteer Fire Chief Eric Alletzhauser, when new state mandates required medical dispatch centers to increase their services, which in turn would necessitate more staff.
One of the mandates required a dispatcher to stay on the phone with a 911 caller.
“Since the state mandated that dispatchers provide medical instructions to a 911 caller, it has put an extra burden on them,” said Madison Fire Marshal Sam Deburra. “Lack of personnel has also been a concern.”
Another mandate required certain quality assurances to be met, such as one requiring the dispatcher to follow-up on a certain percentage of past calls with a supervisor.
“This is similar to when you call a customer service line and it tells you that the conversation may be monitored or recorded for training,” said Alletzhauser. “In our case, the state was requiring us to have a supervisor review the 911 tapes with a dispatcher to ensure that proper procedures and protocols were handled.”
Another mandate required an increase in staffing for the town.
“This mandate said we needed one dispatcher on each of three shifts, day, evening, and overnight,” said Alletzhauser. “This would require us to staff at least two people during the day and evening shifts.”
At present, there are two dispatchers. That number would need to significantly change to comply with state statutes.
“In the end, it was more cost-effective to join with Guilford than to stay where we are,” said Alletzhauser.
The Madison Volunteer Fire Department didn't have a problem with the state mandates, said Alletzhauser, rather, the amount of money it would take to become certified is cost-prohibitive if they joined forces with Guilford, which already has an existing emergency medical dispatch program that meets state statutes.
“Faced with a big addition to our staff, we looked at the option of regionalizing,” he said.
Guilford was first choice, said Alletzhauser, for many reasons.
“They already had an approved dispatch center, we are very similar demographically, plus we work really well together, as there is good cooperation among the fire companies,” he said.
Madison, with about 19,000 residents, has a volunteer fire department of 75, which includes 40 in North Madison and 35 in town.
Guilford, with about 23,000 residents, has a volunteer fire department comprised of 16 career professionals and 75 volunteer professionals, which cover all of Guilford.
According to Alletzhauser, the next step in the process for Madison is to receive approval from the Board of Finance at an upcoming meeting this month.
“If we get approval from our Board of Finance, there will be a 60-day period to get up and running,” added Alletzhauser.
Nothing in the level of service will change for Madison residents, he said.
“I don't think they would notice a difference,” added Deburra.
First, the police dispatch stays in Madison.
“If a Madison resident calls 911 for a fire, medical emergency, or police, the service to that resident will not change,” said Alletzhauser. “The only change will be that the call will go to Guilford's dispatch center.”
Calls for the Madison Police will be routed to the police dispatch in Madison.
Costs for the regionalization with Guilford include $63,000 for equipment, a $200,000 a year contract fee, and possibly $100,000 for a piece of equipment called a PSAP console that Madison will no longer receive for free. The PSAP is owned by the state and will remain in Madison.
“State regulations say that because our primary answering center will be in Guilford and not Madison, the state will no longer provide the PSAP to us for free,” said Alletzhauser.
John Bowers, director of emergency management for Madison and its health director, said the $200,000 a year that Madison will pay to Guilford, if approved by the Board of Finance, is the cost of employing three dispatchers. That amount includes salary and benefits.
“A supervisor is already in place in Guilford,” said Bowers.
Dissatisfaction with the Madison dispatch center has been a ongoing concern of the fire department and its two chiefs, said Bowers.
“I know that the fire department and the chiefs have been dissatisfied with the dispatch for some time, mainly because they felt protocols have not been followed, and since it was operated by the police department, it does not provide an adequate vehicle for the fire department to voice their concerns,” said Bowers.
“Guilford is our back-up now,” said Deburra. “It is a logical transition.”