News
Shasta Regional Medical Center’s parent company Foundation donates $117,000 to SHASCOM 9-1-1 to install life saving services.
Redding, CA…. October 19, 2009. Shasta Regional Medical Center’s parent company Prime Healthcare Services Foundation has donated $117,000 to fully fund the Shasta Area Safety Communications Agency, (SHASCOM) Emergency Medical Dispatching, (EMD) system, which provides critical pre-arrival medical instruction while emergency vehicles are in route to the scene.
EMD will permit the SHASCOM 9-1-1 dispatcher to provide immediate medical instructions, such as CPR, Heimlich maneuver and other critical medical instructions to the callers while they wait assistance. Providing pre-arrival instructions can make the life and death difference to the victim by effectively eliminate the time gap between receipt of the call and arrival of the medic units.
Servicing a large geographical location such as Shasta County, ambulances and fire/rescue personnel often have extended response times, particularly in the out-lying areas. With EMD, rural callers will have immediate real medical instructions on the telephone, a level of care they do not have at this time.
SHASCOM currently does not allow the 9-1-1 dispatcher to instruct the caller with any life saving medical information. The caller is asked if they would like to be transferred for medical information, but often the callers are reluctant to accept the offer because they are confused with conferencing in another person from out of the area and have establish a trust relationship and the 9-1-1 dispatcher. When the caller agrees to be transferred it can take several minutes while they wait for the call to be answered and for the new dispatcher to process repetitive information about the scene before they can provide live saving information.
“Being able to impact the safety of our community especially during a medical emergency is what Shasta Regional Medical Center is all about, said Randall Hempling, CEO of Shasta Regional Medical Center. “We are proud of the progressive and innovative healthcare system that Prime Healthcare Services has brought to our facility, and thrilled that we are able to utilize Prime’s Foundation to help improve the safety in our community.”
About SHASCOM
SHASCOM, is a joint powers agency formed in 1992 for the purpose of consolidated dispatch of public safety resources and 9-1-1 and emergency telephone call processing. SHASCOM currently dispatches the Redding Fire Department, the Redding Police Department, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, three private ambulance providers, and sixteen other Federal, State, and local agencies on an after hour or as needed basis. These agencies provide law, fire and medical responses for two of three cities and the rural population within the borders of Shasta County. SHASCOM is the Primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for nearly all citizens within the borders of Shasta County. SHASCOM receives and processes approximately one thousand incoming telephone calls per day and dispatches approximately two hundred and thirty thousand incidents per year. We receive and process calls from a population base of 170,000 citizens, with a large influx of outdoors visitors.
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