By Fay Abrahamsson
Published on 1/12/2006
Guilford- Madison may soon be joining forces with Guilford in more ways than one.
At its Dec. 19 meeting, Madison's Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed to approve a regionalization of Madison's emergency medical dispatch with Guilford's.
It all started back in July of 2004, according to North Madison Volunteer Fire Chief Eric Alletzhauser, when new state mandates required medical dispatch centers to increase their services, which in turn would increase the staff.
One of the mandates required that a dispatcher stay on the phone with a 911 caller. Another mandate requires certain quality assurances be met, such that the dispatcher 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. At present, Madison has 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.
Guilford was first choice, said Alletzhauser, for many reasons. Guilford already has an approved dispatch center, the towns are very similar demographically, and work well together, said Alletzhauser.
“We would expect that the end result will be beneficial for both departments and agencies, making stronger communications for both Madison and Guilford,” said Guilford Assistant Fire Chief Wayne D. Vetre.
According to Alletzhauser, the next step in the process for Madison is to receive approval from their town's Board of Finance at an upcoming January meeting. Nothing in the level of service will change for Madison residents, he said.
First, the police dispatch stays in Madison. Calls for the Madison police will be routed from Guilford to the police dispatch in Madison.
“It is not unusual for 911 calls to be answered in one place and re-routed to another,” added Vetre. “There are many areas where consolidated resources occur.”
If approved, Madison would pay Guilford $63,000 for equipment for the transition, 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.
Madison Director of Emergency Management and Director of Health John Bowers said the $200,000 a year that Madison will pay to Guilford, if approved by Madison's Board of Finance, is the cost of employing three dispatchers. That amount includes salary and benefits.
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 Fire Marshall Sam Deburra. “It's a logical transition.”
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