NOVEMBER 2013

Johnson County dispatchers are on the move

After seven years of working as a telecommunicator for the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, Master Deputy Justin Arce noticed that sitting at his desk all day was having adverse effects on his health.

"When I first came down to dispatch I was in great health," said Arce. "Even though I've continued to work out after work, I still put on weight and was regularly tired."

Instead of sitting around, Arce decided to get up and do something about the sedentary nature of his work. Last spring, Arce came up with the idea of having treadmills at the consoles. But to get this type of program in place, he would have to research health benefits, long-term health care cost savings for the agency and how the program could be implemented.

When Arce started investigating the long-term health risks of a sedentary job and the benefits of walking he found a wealth of information. Studies Arce looked at showed that walking regularly led to reduced stress and depression (Harvard Medical School); reduced risk of cancer (National Institutes for Health); and improved memory and cognitive abilities (the University of Illinois).

Arce wrote a report and presented his case to his immediate supervisor, Sgt. Brenda Gammell, and with her permission Arce held meetings up through the command staff. With the data supporting his case, it wasn’t long before the Sheriff’s Office was purchasing treadmills.

"There are obvious benefits, especially for anyone with sedentary work," said Maj. Vicki Simpson. "We want to take an extra step to take care of our employees."

Arce’s research and presentation have impacted not only the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. After hearing the benefits explained in Arce's presentation, Walt Way, director of the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center (ECC), wanted to provide this service to his staff as well.

Once everyone in the Sheriff’s Office and ECC became acclimated to walking while working, Arce came up with fun, teambuilding activities to continue promoting regular use of the treadmills. Currently, five teams consisting of dispatchers and telecommunicators from Johnson County ECC and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office are competing in the "2013 Iron Dispatcher of the Year" competition. Members of each team report the total amount of hours they work out or are active each week, with a goal of seeing which team is most active.

While shedding pounds and building camaraderie, the dispatchers use a walking pace of no more than two miles per hour. This allows for a slow and steady pace without detracting from their work.

In addition to losing weight, Arce has noticed additional health benefits and improved performance on the job.

"I typically work the night shift and usually between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. it is easy to get tired. Getting on the treadmill during those morning hours can keep you alert," said Arce. "I also sleep a lot better now."

To learn more about treadmill program at the Johnson County Sheriff's Office and ECC, email Arce at Justin.Arce@jocogov.org.

After 38 years of service, Deb Napier retires

Deb Napier devoted her entire career to the field of public safety communications and on July 31 she retired after 38 years.

Napier started her career at Excelsior Springs Police Department as a clerk and assisted in dispatch. During this time she was traveling most weekends to visit her friends in Maryville, Mo. While she was at work, she enjoyed serving as a clerk, but knew she really wanted to be behind the console.

"I observed dispatch as a clerk and found it fascinating," said Napier. "When a position was available in Maryville I applied and took it."

Napier had a fruitful career as a dispatcher for the Maryville Public Safety Department and the Freemont, Neb., Police Department before working for the Clay County Sheriff's Office. She started working for Clay County in 1981 and was promoted to communications supervisor in 1986.

As a dispatcher and a supervisor she took on numerous and varied responsibilities to improve the 9-1-1 system, not only for Clay County, but also for the entire region. Napier trained dispatchers, was in charge of communications maintenance, and organized the communications center budget.

Napier also served as the MSAG coordinator for all of unincorporated Clay County and most small cities. As the MSAG coordinator she assisted with cleaning up hundreds of customer records.

"In the unincorporated areas we identified an address for every house," said Napier. "Captain Dave Rodgers and I drove around for about two months to confirm addresses for 9-1-1."

In her 38-year career Napier has seen the transition from a seven-digit number dialed for emergencies to the use of the Sentinel system and GeoLynx to accurately map the location of the caller.

"It's just fantastic to see the change. Now we can identify where people are and get help to them immediately."

Whatever the project was, Napier was always a humble public servant, trying to make a difference during a citizen’s time of need.

Since retiring Napier has traveled to Europe, Minnesota and Branson, Mo. Her commitment to public service and improving our region's 9-1-1 system is commendable. Thank you, Deb Napier, for your service to the entire MARC region.

Maintenance services customer satisfaction survey

Every year, the MARC Public Safety Communications program sends out a survey to gauge customer satisfaction with our maintenance services. This survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and is an opportunity for you to provide feedback on the support provided by the MARC communications technicians and vendor technicians.

Click here to take survey»

This survey will be live until 5 p.m. on Dec. 2. If you have questions regarding the survey please contact, Nikki Thomas.

Fradulent callers pose as Language Line employees

Over the summer, four regional PSAPs reported to MARC staff that suspicious calls were made to their 10-digit numbers. Through NENA and professional contacts, MARC employees were notified that these suspicious calls were not isolated to the Kansas City region and had occurred across the country.

Individuals claimed to work for Language Line Translation Services. These individuals would ask for codes or access numbers for the PSAP's Language Line account. A MARC employee contacted Language Line and was informed that no one from their company was contacting PSAPs.

As a reminder, Language Line access codes are limited to 9-1-1 personnel for the sole purpose of assisting non-English speakers in an emergency. If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be a vendor and asking for account information, please report this to your supervisor. If your organization does not know how to proceed, please call MARC’s Public Safety Communications Administrative Manager Adam Geffert at 816-701-8221. Vendors may call your agency from time to time, but they should never ask for account information.

Three area children recognized as 9-1-1 Heroes

Over the past three months, MARC's Public Safety Communications program honored three area children as 9-1-1 Heroes. These children demonstrated knowledge of the proper use of 9-1-1 by performing a heroic action during an emergency.

• Jadyn Higgins, a 6-year-old from Gladstone, received a 9-1-1 Hero Award at the Aug. 26 Gladstone City Council meeting. In July, Jadyn’s mother, Tiffany, struck her head on the side of the pool at Rock Creek Apartments. Jadyn dialed 9-1-1 and talked with the dispatcher while a bystander lifted Tiffany out of the pool. Tiffany was later treated and released at an area hospital.
• Parker Schultz, a 7-year-old from Overland Park., received her 9-1-1 Hero Award at an assembly at Rosehill Elementary School on Sept. 26. Parker dialed 9-1-1 when her father had low blood sugar and needed help. During the call, Parker provided her address and phone number and informed the dispatcher of what was going on. She checked on her father throughout the call and also comforted her little sister.
• Deante Gorman, an 10-year-old from Independence, received a 9-1-1 Hero Award at Three Trails Elementary School on Oct. 18. Deante dialed 9-1-1 when his uncle experienced a seizure and was unresponsive. Deante provided his address and his mother's cell phone number.

MARC's Public Safety Communications program supports the coordinated efforts of PSAPs, schools and parents throughout the metropolitan area to teach children proper use of 9-1-1 in an emergency. The 9-1-1 heroes program recognizes and rewards young people whose actions helped save a life, stop a crime or reduce property loss.

Rep. Jeanie Lauer plans to introduce 2014 9-1-1 legislation

In the 2014 legislative session, MARC’s Public Safety Communications program will actively seek passage of a bill in the state of Missouri to provide local governments more options for funding 9-1-1 systems.

Currently, Missouri is the only one of the 50 states that does not require cell phone users to help support 9-1-1, even though 70 percent of the 9-1-1 calls now come from wireless phones. Also, the FCC estimates that by 2018 only 6 percent of the total U.S. population will use a landline, yet either a surcharge on landlines or a sales tax as determined by county is the only source of 9-1-1 revenue. This causes funding challenges for Missouri’s 9-1-1 system. Ensuring necessary funding for 9-1-1 has long been a priority for local communities and is part of the MARC Board of Directors' legislative platform for the region.

The 2013 legislative session was an incremental success for the region’s legislative goals as 9-1-1 funding reached state-level awareness when Rep. Jeanie Lauer introduced House Bill 653. While the bill passed the House on April 30, it did not make it to the Senate floor before the end of the session on May 17. Rep. Lauer will sponsor a new House Bill with similar goals in the 2014 legislative session.

MARC’s 2014 legislative platform recommends Missouri-wide legislation:

• Enabling counties to determine the best method to support 9-1-1.
• Allowing county voters to set a tax rate on any device capable of
  contacting 9-1-1.
• Updating Missouri statutes to reflect technological advances and include
  "any device capable of contacting 9-1-1" in statute language.

MARC’s 2014 legislative platform also recommends assessing a fee on prepaid wireless devices to generate revenue directed at a state grant fund designed to improve levels of service across the state. An estimated 30 percent of wireless users in the U.S. use prepaid devices. A fee is a preferable option, because prepaid wireless devices are not always associated with a billing residence, making it difficult to generate tax revenue.

The support of Rep. Lauer and her peers is essential to reasonable 9-1-1 funding solutions in an evolving technogical landscape.

Upcoming Training Opportunities

Dec. 10: 9-1-1 Equipment Training

Dec. 12: TTY Training

Jan. 6: Leadership in the Communications Center

Jan. 7: 9-1-1 Stress Management

Jan. 9: 9-1-1 Equipment Training

Jan. 14: TTY Training

Jan. 16: Violence in Public Settings

Jan. 21: 9-1-1 Liability

Jan. 23: Interoperable Communications

Jan. 28–29: Advanced Communications Training Officer

See a complete list of upcoming
9-1-1 training opportunities and GTI courses included in the 9-1-1 training consortium membership.

Special Events and Trainings

Nov. 20: Professional Development Series — Mass-Casualty Incident: The Tucson Shooting

Maintenance Services

If your issue requires immediate attention please call 816/421-2911 any time day or night.

In non-emergency situations, you may email maintenance requests or questions to 911techs@marc.org or call 816/421-2911.

Remember, it is important to reboot your 9-1-1 workstations at least once each week, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., when a MARC communications technician is available in case you experience any problems. This will automatically update the GeoLynx map data on your workstation.

PSAP Managers Forum

The PSAP Managers Forum is an excellent resource for managers and supervisors to share and exchange ideas, concerns and suggestions.

Have a story you want to share?

Email Paul Lampe or call 816/701-8366.