Moberly Joint Communications is now responsible for the Randolph County Ambulance District.
This change brings new software that standardizes calls and helps dispatchers better understand and communicate situations to responders. In the past, dispatchers could either rely on prior experience or flip through prompts printed on cards to help callers. Now, they can submit answers into a program to more efficiently assist a caller with their emergency.
Community Relations Manager Scott McGarvey said they have already seen this new technology benefit dispatchers and responders.
“We’ve had situations already where our dispatcher was able to coach a caller through a CPR process so that they were already giving aid to the individual before our first responders got on the scene," McGarvey said.
This partnership consolidates emergency calls to one central location, so calls can be taken and addressed without an additional transfer to the Randolph County Ambulance District.
Randolph County residents will also have the option to text 911.
Texting 911 has been an option in some parts of Missouri since 2016, but only recently has it made its way into rural areas. This upgrade can be life saving for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, have speech impediments, are experiencing a medical emergency or are in a situation where a phone call could endanger them.
Moberly 911 Director Shelby Creed spearheaded a movement to make Text2911 available in 21 counties across the state of Missouri. The City of Moberly was awarded an approximately $3.5 million grant to upgrade 911 digital protocols, networks and systems, which included the Text2911 service.
Creed has worked to provide this service in her home county and in several across the state because rural areas often lack an accessible option for emergency response.
“You open a new message, put 9-1-1 and type your message out and we are actually able to text back and forth with that person, get location information, get further details to get responders out there," she said.
Creed said 911 calls are still preferred, and the text option is only to be used in emergency situations.
