Northwest Central Dispatch System earns accreditations in excellence
Northwest Central Dispatch System, Arlington Heights, earned accreditation as an Emergency Fire Dispatch Center of Excellence and reaccreditation as an Emergency Medical Dispatch Center of Excellence from the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch.
This system has the distinguished honor of becoming the 31st Emergency Fire Dispatch Accredited Center in the world and the first in the state of Illinois.
Northwest Central Dispatch System was the first Emergency Medical Dispatch Center of Excellence in the state of Illinois in 2010, and is proud to complete the reaccreditation process for a second time.
It is an intergovernmental, multijurisdictional 9-1-1 center servicing 11 communities including: Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, and Streamwood.
The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch is a nonprofit, standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide.
Comprised of allied academies for medical, fire, and police, the international group supports first-responder related research, unified protocol application, legislation for emergency call center regulation, and strengthening the emergency dispatch community through education, certification, and accreditation. An Accredited Center of Excellence is the highest distinction in 9-1-1 emergency communications services.
The northwest center achieved accreditation for demonstrating compliance to the Fire Priority Dispatch System and Medical Priority Dispatch System and the associated "20 Points of Excellence," which encompasses international practice standards of excellence for Emergency Fire Dispatch and Emergency Medical Dispatch. This level of operational effectiveness addresses system oversight, quality improvement programs, and individual certification of all emergency call-takers.
Accreditation is a voluntary accomplishment that demonstrates an unprecedented dedication to public safety from not only each individual within the communication center, but also the administration.
John Ferraro, executive director for the northwest center, stressed that the honor of becoming an accredited center is only possible because of the hard work, experience, and professionalism of the Telecommunicators.
"They have to meet very specific call-handling standards in order to achieve these accreditations. Without their performance, none of this is possible. They deserve an enormous amount of credit," Ferraro said.
Operations Manager Sue Cooper worked to fulfill the administrative requirements of the EFD accreditation. Operations Manager Kevin Diluia managed the EMD accreditation and reaccreditation process all three times. EMD/EFD Coordinator Ron Two Bulls assisted with both projects. All are commended for their tireless efforts and expertise.