Missoula County proposes $135,000 for software to speed emergency medical dispatch
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Summary
County staff proposed implementing Priority Dispatch medical-dispatch software at a one-time cost of $135,000 (from the 911 trust) plus an ongoing $11,500 annual license to integrate medical dispatch, reduce on-scene response times and streamline training.
Missoula County staff asked the Board to approve implementing software for emergency medical dispatch that would integrate scripted medical triage, training and recertification across 911 consoles.
Staff said initial implementation would cost $135,000, which they proposed paying from the county’s 911 trust fund, and that the ongoing license and maintenance would be about $11,500 per year to be paid from the general fund thereafter. The software—identified as an integrated Priority Dispatch system in the presentation—would be deployed on all console stations, include onboarding and licensing and centralize emergency medical dispatch protocols.
Presenters told the board the software can shorten the time between receiving a medical call and recommended dispatch by an average of about 30 seconds and in some cases up to a minute, and that integrated software reduces training time for new dispatchers. Staff said medical partners have asked the county to adopt a software-based emergency medical dispatch protocol.
The board was told the implementation cost could be transferred from the 911 trust for the one-time fee and that ongoing maintenance would come from the general fund. No formal vote to appropriate those funds was recorded in the meeting excerpt; the item was presented as a budget request for the board’s consideration.
