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| 911 Center Director Kellye Dalton |
Kellye Dalton, who was recently hired as the new 911 coordinator, says updating the dispatching center’s database is critical to improving first responder services and meeting the needs during non-emergency response to issues that arise daily.
The dispatching center has created a form and is asking residents, caretakers, business owners and others to complete the one-page document and return it to central dispatching at city hall.
Dalton, a former Kentucky State Police dispatcher, explains that the 911 center needs to constantly update its files because things change.
“Now is a good time to update our records, and I would encourage anyone whose situation changes to in the future to let us know,” she said.
Sought is critical information that might include the following: hard-of-hearing or sight-impaired individuals residing at an address, the names and phone numbers of key-holders to businesses or
homes, livestock owners, names of emergency contacts for a particular address or whether serious medical conditions exist for individuals at a location.“EMS might go to someone’s house on a call, and if they know ahead of time that there’s an elderly person inside that might not be too mobile or prone to falling, it would be beneficial to know if there’s a hidden key somewhere,” she said. “That might prevent a door from having to be broken down in an emergency situation. We’re just looking at getting information along those lines.”
Having information about Alzheimer’s and dementia patients or residents with serious psychological disorders can help first responders to assess critical situations more clearly, the dispatching director said.
“By helping us catalog these types of details and others, dispatchers will be better informed to help you at a time of need,” reads a line on the form that’s being distributed online in electronic form or in hard copy at the dispatch center.
Individuals are asked to complete the form and deposit it in the Marion City Hall Drop Box in front of the 911 Dispatching Center or email an image of the completed form to kdalton@marionky.gov.
The information will be kept in the strictest confidence, she said, and used only for dispatching services.
“Our database is safe and secure,” Dalton said.
Additionally, new 911 addresses are now issued at the dispatching center instead of at the courthouse where they’ve been provided for many years. Applications are available at the dispatch center. Once an application for a new county address has been made, a field operative will come to take coordinates, which are entered into the computer mapping system, known as ArcGIS.
Dalton also reminds residents and business owners to conspicuously display their 911 address either on a mailbox or on the structure or residence in letters at least three inches tall, and preferably made from reflective material.
