Residents calling 911 for medical emergencies in Doña Ana County may notice some new questions being asked by the Emergency Dispatcher who answers their call. The Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority (MVRDA) has instituted the Medical Priority Dispatch SystemTM (MPDS®) after working hard over the last six months on the implementation process with Priority Dispatch®.
MVRDA’s Emergency Dispatchers have undergone extensive additional training to become certified in the Medical Protocols of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED TM), which cover everything from snake bites to identifying strokes, administering CPR, or administering Narcan for an overdose.
“It’s important for residents to know that as soon as the Dispatcher has identified the location and main issue, help is being dispatched,” said Jennifer Gorham, MVRDA Executive Director. “The Dispatcher may continue with further questioning after emergency services have been dispatched in order to further update responders. Our Dispatchers are also certified to give life-saving instructions until responders arrive.”
Brian Dale, President of Priority Dispatch stated that, “The MPDS helps Emergency Dispatchers obtain appropriate information to identify the severity of the incident and apply consistent treatment to the patient until responders arrive, and this has the potential to save lives.”
MVRDA is excited for their Emergency Dispatchers to have the very latest, internationally recognized standards and research-based protocols to identify life-threatening situations and to safely prioritize calls for response. MVRDA Deputy Director, Albert Flores, said “There are many benefits to the MPDS scripted protocols, an important one being that every MVRDA Emergency Dispatcher answering your call has been trained in the questioning protocols and you’ll receive a consistent high level of service.”
“At the IAED, our goal is to help the Emergency Dispatcher do his or her job better,” said Dr. Jeff Clawson, Chair, Rules Committee for the IAED Medical Council of Standards. “This system increases safety and effectiveness for the first responders and creates better outcomes for callers.”
With Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority’s implementation of this system, residents can have peace of mind that when they call the emergency number for assistance, highly trained Emergency Dispatchers will properly handle their needs with timeliness and expert care.
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About Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority:
MVRDA was formed in 1989 as New Mexico’s first consolidated dispatch center. MVRDA serves Doña Ana County, City of Las Cruces, City of Sunland Park, Town of Mesilla, Village of Hatch and City of Anthony offering dispatch services for law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services. In 2023, MVRDA received 351,503 phone calls resulting in 328,422 dispatches for service.
Contact: Jennifer Gorham, MVRDA Executive Director
Phone: (575) 647-6803
E-mail: jgorham@mvrda.org
website: www.mvrda.org
About Priority Dispatch:
Priority Dispatch™ is the world leader in providing research-based protocol solutions to emergency call centers in medical, fire, police, and nurse triage disciplines. For over 44 years, EMS and 911 agencies have used the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®), initially with cardsets and now only fully represented in ProQA software. Our solutions have been time-tested in 30 languages across hundreds of millions of calls and serve communities in thousands of agencies in 59 countries. Get to know us at prioritydispatch.net.
Contact: Wendy Whittaker Phone: 541-280-7172
E-mail: wendy.whittaker@prioritydispatch.net PDC website: www.prioritydispatch.net
About the IAED:
The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch is the standard-setting organization for medical, fire, police, and nurse triage emergency dispatch and response services worldwide and is the leading body of emergency services dispatch experts. Our various Boards and Councils work on behalf of over 69,000 members in 59 countries—and in coordination with other influential public safety organizations—to ensure that the comprehensive system covering all aspects of emergency dispatching is safe, fast, effective, and cutting-edge. IAED protocols are used in more than 4,131 communication centers across the world and have been time-tested across hundreds of millions of calls for medical, fire, police, and nurse triage dispatching. Learn more at emergencydispatch.org.
Contact: Pam Stewart
Phone: 801-363-9127 ext. 370
E-mail: pam.stewart@emergencydispatch.org IAED website: www.emergencydispatch.org
