Moving 911 from analog to the digital world
Updated: 10:15 a.m. | Posted: 7:51 a.m.
A large dispatch center in the Twin Cities is adopting new technology that will improve calls to 911.
About 300 emergency calls are answered every day at Allina Health Emergency Medical Services in St. Paul. That's 20 percent of the state's 911 medical calls, with coverage stretching 1,800 square miles from Cambridge to New Ulm, KSTP-TV reported.
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"People don't call 911 because they're having a good day; they're very nervous, very scared, very sick," said Chuck Kaufman, communications director for Allina Health EMS.
Decades ago, dispatchers took calls from phones that were bolted to walls and gave them a specific address. Today, about 85 percent of 911 calls come from cellphones, which can make it harder for dispatchers to pinpoint a person's location, especially in rural areas, because callers needing emergency help may provide wrong information or a faulty location.
"That's one of the challenges we face today; people aren't always aware of where they are at," Kaufman said.
But a move from analog to digital, called Next Generation 911, will provide dispatchers and emergency responders with more accurate call locations, as well as the ability to look at pictures and video from people in trouble. The technology also has a text option for 911.
Next Generation 911 will be launched in the Twin Cities as partnership between Minneapolis, Edina, Allina Health, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and Hennepin EMS.
The technology will eventually be rolled out in 911 centers across the state.