Northwest suburban 911 center receives state honor

Arlington Heights-based Northwest Central Dispatch System has received the first Public-Safety Answering Point of the Year award from Illinois Heart Rescue, in conjunction with Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival.

The award recognizes the emergency dispatch center's consistent effectiveness at delivering CPR instructions to 911 callers, officials said.

According to the center, the national average of someone calling 911, receiving pre-arrival instructions and actually performing CPR was 49% in 2019. The dispatch system's average was 70.1%.

Dispatch telecommunicators properly classified cardiac arrest 97% of the time, the agency reported, and its patients are 11% higher than the national average to remain neurologically intact due to CPR instructions started when someone on the scene dials 911.

The 911 center serves about 500,000 residents in 11 Northwest suburban communities.