04/21/2023
Sheriff Eddie Virden is proud to announce we will be implementing EMD in the near future. Many of you probably do not know what EMD stands for or what it even is. Well, EMD stands for Emergency Medical Dispatch and it involves the combination of telecommunications skills and medical knowledge. Thanks to a grant that was secured by the Osage County 911 Center, the Sheriff’s Office has been able to send our Dispatch Supervisor to training that allows her to train all of our Dispatchers in EMD.
As many of you know Osage County is a huge county and when you call for an ambulance it can take upwards of 30 minutes to get to you. Even if you live in a town that has an ambulance service, there is a good chance of a wait if that ambulance is out on another call or on a transport to a hospital. In cases such as this, another ambulance will be called for mutual aid from another location.
EMD is the primary and initial point of contact for callers seeking emergency medical assistance. The EMD also initiates and coordinates the necessary emergency service response to meet the needs of the reported situation. The EMD can provide medical assistance to callers over the phone until help arrives. EMD’s are trained in the use of the Emergency Medical Dispatch Guide Cards and software. These guide cards are a reference system for the questions to ask, resources to dispatch, and pre-arrival instructions to provide while waiting on an ambulance to arrive. The EMD helps callers administer initial emergency medical care to patients who need assistance. In this respect, EMD’s assist caller’s in saving lives.
The training process for our Dispatchers has begun and we hope to have everyone trained by mid-summer so we can provide this vital function to the Citizens of Osage County.