The Johnston County 911 Communications Center has been re-accredited in three protocol disciplines. The local 911 Center is only the fourth emergency dispatch center in the world to attain International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED status as an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) in the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS, Police Priority Dispatch System (PPDS), and Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS). This is the third time the center has re-accredited. Johnston County 911 was first accredited in 2011.
George Ellinger the agency’s 911 Quality Assurance & Training Coordinator who led the ACE process in achieving re-accreditation in all three disciplines is thrilled with the accomplishment. “It was challenging at times, but knowing that we provide great service to our community, the application process was simply documenting what we do every day”.
Accreditation in each of the protocols requires a detailed self-assessment based on the Academy’s Twenty Points of Accreditation. In order to achieve triple accreditation, agencies must meet or exceed all twenty points of accreditation in all three disciplines, which requires participation from the Chief right down to the individual emergency dispatcher. For each of the three disciplines, the Academy’s Board of Accreditation reviews the center’s application and documentation of the Twenty Points.
“It is a rigorous process to attain accreditation in one discipline. Attaining it in three is an amazing accomplishment. I am most impressed with the level of care and concern the emergency dispatchers provide to each 911 caller”, observed Kim Rigden, Associate Director of Accreditation.
Accredited centers have demonstrated a commitment to providing superior, up-to-date public care and efficient use of resources to attain the best possible outcomes in emergencies. When callers speak with dispatchers at ACE agencies in medical, police, or fire emergencies, they can have confidence and peace of mind that their call will be properly assessed and that they will receive a high level of service. A Tri-ACE agency displays an even greater level of competency and adherence to the ACE standards. Such an agency has expert command of IAED protocols, resulting in enhanced response for callers in need.
“Achieving a Tri-ACE status is the crowning accomplishment for a communication center,” said IAED President Jerry Overton. “Johnston County E-9-1-1 Communications’ tri-accreditation is a testament to its total buy-in from the top down.”
There are more than 180 centers throughout the world carrying the ACE distinction among the 3,000 centers worldwide using the fire, police medical, and ECNS protocols for safe and efficient response to emergency situations. Only eight in the world are Tri-ACE.
“Re-accreditation shows the high level of service that our employees provide to the citizen of Johnston County,” said Scott Beasley, Quality Assurance and Training Manager. “We are extremely excited about our staff maintaining this level of service for the last six year. It is wonderful. It takes a lot of hard work from all of our staff. They strive to do their best every day. We are very proud of them.”
