Tri Area News

Parkland County ECC

After several months of hard work, Parkland County’s Emergency Communications Centre (ECC) has met all the requirements to become a National Academy of Emergency Dispatch (NAED) Accredited Center of Excellence. Even more exciting is that Parkland County is only the 2nd centre in Canada and 19th in North America to achieve this distinction.

“For the past 23 years, the ECC has served the community by keeping up-to-date with on-going training and the desire to deliver the best possible service and ensure accountability to the responding emergency crews,” said Kerri-Doone Swedberg, supervisor, emergency communications centre. “Being only the second centre in Canada to receive this accreditation proves the quality and integrity of our communications centre and our staff.”

The NAED requires a high level of excellence and commitment to meet their standards for accreditation. Parkland County has completed the required 20-point process of accreditation and is committed to maintaining the standards required as an Accredited Center of Excellence. The Fire Priority Dispatch (EFD) system gives Parkland County’s fire dispatchers access to the latest technology in call prioritizing, dispatch responses and life saving pre-arrival instructions.

“The accreditation also provides other advantages,” continued Swedberg. “We will also benefit from the 30 years of experience the National Academy has in the field of emergency communications, giving us the opportunity to learn from emergency dispatch centers from around the world. We look forward to our exciting new future as an Accredited Center of Excellence!”

Parkland County’s ECC provides 911 call answer to over 90,000 phone lines and dispatches fire, law enforcement, animal control services, and public works for various municipalities within and bordering the county.

Points of Interest:

• The National Academy has 30 years experience with emergency dispatch protocols, which guarantees the highest caliber of protocol in a communication centre.
• Academy membership is comprised of nearly 41,000 certified members dedicated to public safety profession, and there are more than 3200 communication centres that utilize the Academy’s protocol system, with approx 100 centres achieving the status of an Accredited Center for Excellence (ACE).
• All ECC dispatch staff is required to be trained and certified in Emergency Fire Dispatch protocols, and they are required to recertify every two years to ensure current and update qualifications.
• Case reviews conducted by the ECC operator must achieve 90 – 100% compliance per call in order to successfully achieve the Academy’s standards.
• The ECC has a four member Quality Assurance Team that is responsible for daily, monthly and quarterly case reviews which provide objective and consistent quality management throughout the centre
• Quality Assurance provides standards that are measurable, consistent and achievable and are the foundation for the centre’s success. Quality cannot exist without standards and without a measurable method of conformance for accountability and customer service.