Committee reviews side-by-side 911 data as Richmond Ambulance Authority seeks return of medical dispatch

The Public Safety Standing Committee reviewed a side-by-side comparison of call-answering and dispatch data from the Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response (DECPR) and the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) as committee members pressed officials for clarity about a July 2024 operational change that shifted emergency medical dispatch (EMD) functions.

Tory May, DECPR deputy director of operations, said the chart provided to the committee was an attempt to create an "apples to apples" comparison over a six-month window and cautioned that the data "fluctuate[s] week in and week out." She described DECPR’s figures as the October–March snapshot and said meeting the 90% standard for calls answered in a target time is difficult but that DECPR’s staffing and the nature of high-impact incidents can cause daily variations: "The snapshot that was provided was a 6 month window...the percentages that are shown there, our data is showing from October first of 2024." She added that DECPR currently handles calls for police, fire, EMS and animal control and that the mix of those calls affects answer-time metrics.

Chip Decker, chief executive officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority, told the committee RAA’s board voted to support the return of emergency medical dispatch to the ambulance authority, arguing RAA has a long experience in medical triage and pre-arrival instructions and that RAA can reduce misprioritization. "The data shows that we can assist in making the whole experience more successful," Decker said, and he described instances in which calls are ‘‘under prioritized’’ or lack medical detail until callers are called back.

DECPR staff explained the administrative reasons for the 2024 change: a consultant review recommended consolidating functions and state code required 911 centers to ensure staff had EMD training by July 1, 2024. DECPR told the committee that transferring medical calls previously added about 60–65 seconds to the processing chain when callers were placed with RAA, but DECPR said it made the change to comply with the new requirement and to avoid a continued transfer process.

Committee members asked for more up-to-date and granular figures and for a site visit to each call center. One councilmember summed up the practical concern: for a caller needing an ambulance, what matters most is that the right resource is dispatched as quickly as possible. DECPR acknowledged the 911 system’s pressure points — it described Richmond as the state’s second-busiest public safety answering point — and said the phone system’s automated announcement threshold was recently adjusted from 3 seconds to 20 seconds to reduce the chance callers hear an automated message while a call is being answered.

The committee also heard that the RAA board has formally requested returning EMD responsibilities to the ambulance authority; RAA’s Decker said medical dispatchers bring specialized, protocol-driven questioning that can be critical for pre-arrival instructions such as CPR guidance. DECPR officials described ongoing refresher training and said in-person refresher sessions are scheduled before August 1 to improve categorization accuracy.

The committee did not take a vote. Members asked staff to arrange facility visits at both DECPR and RAA, to provide updated weekly or monthly answer-time reports and to follow up on counts of calls routed to automated messages or that receive callbacks. The committee indicated it will revisit the issue next month.

Ending: DECPR and RAA agreed to provide additional data and accommodate site visits; RAA’s board vote in favor of reclaiming EMD was noted as a formal position the council will consider moving forward.