Botetourt Launches Medical Priority Dispatch System

May 13, 2021 Reader Submission

May 11, 2021 (Botetourt County, VA) – The Department of Fire & EMS, along with the Botetourt
County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center, is excited to announce the
implementation of the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ to better serve the residents and visitors
of Botetourt County in emergency situations.
With this new system, emergency dispatchers will follow nationally recognized standards and
research-based protocols to identify life-threatening situations and to safely prioritize calls for
response. The protocols guide emergency dispatchers through a series of questions they ask
callers to identify the problems so they can send the correct help.
Emergency dispatchers will also use the questions to provide responders with accurate
information so they can more effectively give care once they are on the scene. Additionally, with
the MPDS®, emergency dispatchers can provide lifesaving and safety instructions to callers and
patients before responders arrive. For example, by using the MPDS®, the emergency dispatcher
can instruct a caller on performing CPR or delivering a baby.
“When a citizen in Botetourt County picks up the phone and calls 911 to report a medical
emergency every second counts,” said Sheriff Matt Ward”. “I am confident the training and
enhancements of the Priority Dispatch System will provide our staff with the tools needed to help
save lives. I am grateful to the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors and Chief Jason Ferguson
for their commitment in providing this service to the citizens of Botetourt County.”
“It is exciting to see the advancement in the capabilities of our Emergency Communications Center.
While EMD isn’t new to Botetourt County, this new system is an excellent opportunity to better
utilize our resources and provide the most appropriate response to those in need. This couldn’t
come at a better time,” explained Board of Supervisors Chair, Dr. Mac Scothorn.
The Priority Dispatch System™ includes ProQA® software and/or card sets, a three-day certification
training course for emergency dispatchers, and continual quality improvement (QI) benchmarks and training. All emergency dispatchers who work on the new system are certified by the
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® and must recertify every two years, complete 24
hours of continuing dispatch education (CDE) and pass all requirements for IAED recertification.
Proactive quality improvement (QI) benchmarks are an important part of the PDS. Use of this
system will allow Botetourt County emergency dispatchers to assess the quality of the care they
provide their communities, allowing them to make positive adjustments to training and staff in
response to these assessments.
“At the IAED, our goal is to help the emergency dispatcher do his or her job better,” said Dr. Jeff
Clawson, Chair, Rules Committee for the IAED Medical Council of Standards. “This system increases
safety and effectiveness for the first responders and creates better outcomes for callers.”
The constantly evolving PDS will help provide the highest standard of care to the community,
allowing Emergency Medical Dispatchers to better manage limited resources and increase the
accuracy and efficiency of the dispatching process.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to advance beyond previous manual processes and have
a more up-to-date program that quickly and effectively guides our dispatchers through the call to
reach a prompt and more accurate result for sending the appropriate units,” said ECC Supervisor
Nicole Manspile.
The Botetourt ECC is the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for all emergency calls in Botetourt
County. Each year the center receives over 19,000 emergency calls from both landline and cellular
callers via 911.
Chief of Fire & EMS Jason Ferguson says that, “This initiative began over two years ago, with our
Medical Director leading the charge for change.” Agency Medical Director Dr. Carol Bernier has
been an advocate of revisions to local EMD processes for the betterment of services throughout
the region. “In my experience, MPDS triages calls to ensure a balanced response using facts and
data to drive decision-making. Not every call needs a paramedic, nor a lights and sirens response.
This tool will allow better utilization of resources in an area like Botetourt, ensuring better servicedelivery and hopefully better outcomes.”
The implementation of this program is also part of a grant funded by the Virginia Office of
Emergency Medical Services. A grant for fifty percent of the overall initial costs was funded in July
2020.