REMSA NEWS RELEASE
REMSA (Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority) has opened its new state-of-the-art emergency medical communications and dispatch center.
REMSA has provided emergency medical dispatch services for the region’s ambulances, REMSA’s co-responders and Care Fight since 1986. Over the past 27 years, REMSA has seen a 4 to 6 percent increase in emergency call volume each year. Today, the medical communications center processes an average of 190 requests for service each day.
The new, expanded communications center was developed to allow REMSA to handle this increased call volume and to utilize the latest technology in order to provide the highest quality medical dispatch services to the citizens of Reno, Sparks and all of Washoe County into the future. The new dispatch center was built using no tax dollars.
This new center features 13 workstations that have full emergency medical dispatch and call-taking capabilities. The 13 workstations, which are ergonomic sit/stand stations, are a 60 percent increase of workstations from REMSA’s previous dispatch center. The new emergency medical communications and dispatch center also includes upgraded radio and telephone systems, as well as heightened security features.
REMSA is unique in that it is the only medically accredited dispatch center in the region and it requires all dispatchers to also be medically trained advanced emergency medical technicians (EMT-As), at minimum. Most of the dispatchers are also active field paramedics and EMTs that have on-scene experience with medical emergencies.
REMSA’s emergency medical dispatchers are responsible for properly determining where to send the ambulances and the proper priority to send the ambulance and for providing life saving medical care over the phone until the paramedics or first responders arrive. In circumstances such as cardiac arrest, imminent child birth, cardiac chest pain, seizures, severe bleeding and choking, medical instructions are given to the caller over the telephone providing life-saving interventions prior to the arrival of paramedics or first responders.
“This new dispatch facility represents REMSA’s commitment to reinvest in our community,” said Jim Gubbels, president and CEO of REMSA. “The new facility blends high tech, cutting-edge technology with highly trained and high quality emergency medical staff. The work stations feature a new telephone system that allows for next generation 911 services to be provided.”
REMSA’s communication center has been accredited as an “Emergency Medical Dispatch Center of Excellence” by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) since 2001. REMSA is the only accredited emergency medical communications center in Nevada and one of 127 agencies, or 4 percent of all dispatch centers, in the world, to be awarded this highest distinction for their comprehensive implementation and compliance with the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS).
The MPDS is the world’s most widely-used and recognized medical pre-arrival instruction and dispatch life-support protocol system. With medically-approved scripted telephone instructions for CPR, airway obstruction relief, hemorrhage control and childbirth assistance, the MPDS has been credited with helping save thousands of lives. In addition to requiring proper system oversight, medical control and a quality improvement program, continuing accreditation demands careful MPDS compliance and certification for all emergency call-takers and medical dispatchers.
REMSA further complements the MPDS designation with experienced and well-trained EMS response personnel who work in REMSA’s Medical Dispatch Center.
REMSA is a private, non-profit emergency medical services system serving northern Nevada. Its state-of-the-art medical dispatch communications center is fully accredited, as are all emergency medical transport services of the company. REMSA provides quality patient care with no taxpayer support or other subsidies.
