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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Curtis Nekovar, Director of Emergency Communications
DATE: August 1, 2018
SUBJECT:
A Resolution to concur with the expenditure approval by the joint Naperville/Aurora Emergency Telephone Systems Board and accept the quote from PowerPhone, 1321 Boston Post Road, Madison, Connecticut, for computer aided call handling software for displaying and presenting protocols and procedures used when handling calls for medical emergencies received by the Aurora 9-1-1 Center, recommended to the Finance Committee on August 14, 2018.
PURPOSE:
To secure the service of PowerPhone to provide computer aided call handling software and support to the Aurora 9-1-1 Center. This software would be essential for use by call takers fielding medical emergency calls for service from the citizens of Aurora, and would provide supervisory staff the tools to properly evaluate the calls for service for quality assurance purposes.
BACKGROUND:
With the implementation of a new CAD system on the horizon, in early 2017 we examined our options for an electronic protocol system that would interface with the new Hexagon CAD system.
The Illinois Department of Public Health, through Illinois Compiled Statute 515.710 - Emergency Medical Dispatcher, approves protocol vendors who must meet or exceed the national curriculum of the United States Department of Transportation for EMS Dispatchers or its equivalent. The three approved vendors in Illinois are APCO, PowerPhone, and Priority Dispatch. We were already utilizing hard card copies of APCO's EMD protocols, so they were contacted for a quote and demonstration of their system. We also contacted PowerPhone for a quote and demonstration of their system. We opted to not contact Priority Dispatch due to historical experience in their pricing not being close at all to APCO and PowerPhone, and their lack of flexibility in honoring EMD certifications from protocol vendors other than themselves. The 9-1-1 management staf...
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