Spokane regional emergency communications wins medical dispatch accreditation

Spokane County presenters said Spokane Regional Emergency Communications received Accredited Center of Excellence accreditation for medical dispatching this year, a credential they said only a few organizations in the state and nation earned. “Soak and Regional Emergency Communications received the Accredited Center of Excellence accreditation this year for our medical dispatching. We are only 1 of 3 in Washington state and only a few in the nation that received it this year,” said Speaker 4, a county official.

Speaker 4 described the accreditation as validation that dispatchers follow established protocols and ask appropriate questions to send the right responders. “A person calls 911. Our employees are asking all the right questions, following a protocol that gets them the end result that is necessary to get the right responders to the scene,” Speaker 4 said.

Other speakers described the emotional and professional rewards of dispatch work. “I just had a passion for helping people, and I wanted to do that to the fullest extent,” said Speaker 3, a call-taker, who added, “since my first day working here, I've absolutely loved it.” Another call-taker, Speaker 5, said training and repetition help staff stay calm handling difficult calls.

The presentation described the accreditation and staff training as programmatic achievements; no policy or budget actions were proposed during these remarks.