Waynesboro emergency management outlines 911 workload, staffing pressures and regional radio upgrade

Gary Price, director of emergency management, briefed the city council on Jan. 27 on 911 operations, staffing and planned technology upgrades.

Price said Waynesboro's consolidated 911 center handled more than 29,000 dispatched incidents in 2024 and recorded over 47,000 telephone interactions. Text-to-911 usage was limited (about 322 text-to-911 interactions in 2024), he said, and staff continue to encourage voice calls when callers are able because they allow more complete information exchange.

Price described operational protocols including a priority dispatch system for EMS that helps determine the appropriate response level (basic life support vs. advanced life support), and the use of pre-arrival (pre-bridal in transcript) instructions to guide callers through CPR, bleeding control and other medical interventions until responders arrive. He noted Waynesboro placed automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on police vehicles beginning in 1997 and credited police AEDs for some rapid-response saves.

Price outlined new and upcoming systems: the city obtained PulsePoint Respond through a regional grant to alert trained bystanders to nearby public cardiac arrests and to make AED location information available; the city uses RAVE for mass notification; next-generation 911 (transition from copper lines to voice-over-IP) is expected to be deployed in March or April pending final circuit work; and the SAW regional P25 Phase 2 digital radio system procured through L3Harris is being installed with planned rollouts and coverage testing this year.

Staffing and workforce issues were a major focus. Price said the center currently has 12 authorized full-time and 6'6 part-time positions, with three full-time vacancies under recruitment. He described long training timelines for dispatchers (six to nine months or longer), national staffing pressures and research indicating elevated PTSD risk among 911 dispatchers. Price said bills to reclassify dispatchers as public safety and to extend workers' compensation coverage for dispatcher PTSD have been introduced at the General Assembly in recent years but had not advanced as of the briefing.

Price also described interoperability and backup communications such as amateur (ham) radio and radio interoperability software (Rios) that can connect disparate radio systems. He encouraged council consideration of local support measures (for example, a resolution to send to state or federal officials) and said he was available for follow-up questions.

No formal council action was required on the presentation.