Sunday, December 29, 2013

Re: INDIVIDUAL CRISIS INTERVENTION & PEER SUPPORT/GROUP CRISIS INTERVENTION


 In the past we have discussed the need for the board members of MCSA to support dispatchers and be part of a Critical Stress group. This is a link of an upcoming class, I attended their training last May. A group like this provides support to all people involved in critical incidents. They need us to be part of their group and be there as peer support of dispatchers.   Below is a link for an upcoming training.   


Fwd: INDIVIDUAL CRISIS INTERVENTION & PEER SUPPORT/GROUP CRISIS INTERVENTION

 In the past we have discussed the need for the board members of MCSA to support dispatchers and be part of a Critical Stress group. This is a link of an upcoming class, I attended their training last May. A group like this provides support to all people involved in critical incidents. They need us to be part of their group and be there as peer support of dispatchers.   Below is a link for an upcoming training.   

Saturday, December 28, 2013

2014 Monthly Meeting Dates and Locations

2014 Meeting Schedule for MCSA


January 15, 2014               AMR      :                                                              Host: Steve L’Heureux
                                                4 Tech Circle
                                                Natick

February 19, 2014            Norwood Police Dept.                                   Host: Jim Maroney
                                                137 Nahatan Street
                                                Norwood

March   12, 2014                Training Day - More info TBA
                                               

April 16, 2014                     Trinity Ambulance                                          Host: Jon Kelley
Training Center               
12 Jean Avenue
                                                Chelmsford       

May 21, 2014                      Sturbridge Police Department                  Host: Barbara Boiteau
                                                308 Main Street
                                                Sturbridge

June 18, 2014                     Annual Meeting - Location TBD 
                                               

Talking down a suicidal caller

http://www.kcci.com/911-operator-talks-mom-off-ledge/-/9357770/23667334/-/dr976m/-/index.html#ixzz2omJbzO3P

Great 911 Telecommunicator article

http://www.ems1.com/ems-training/articles/1640072-Mass-dispatcher-helps-save-9-week-old-baby/

Sunday, August 11, 2013

State 911 Department July 2013 Newletter

MCSA ~ MA911.ORG is pleased to share a great new informational piece - the Massachusetts State 911 Department's July 2013 Newsletter.   Click the link below to access a copy.  It is also available at www. mass.gov/e911

 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzz6M3W9F5heSkRGLTU0alJINlU/edit?usp=sharing

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

APCO Atlantic offering 2 great pre-conference courses - Sign up today!




CCM Grant Recipients Recommended to State 911 Department



On Thursday June 27 the CCM Grant selection committee (Chaired by Leslie Carroll with members George Fosque, Monna Wallace and Don Hancock) met and reviewed the grant applications. 

All the applications were reviewed and found to be a group of extremely well qualified candidates. After much discussion and evaluation the selection committee recommended the following individuals to the Massachusetts State 911 Department for the Fitch Associates Communications Center Manager's Course.
  • Robert Rowe, Wellesley Police Department
  • Amy West, Newburyport Police Department
  • Sidney ( Skip) Botelho, Cambridge Emergency Communications
  • David Mazza, Townsend Communications
  • Lauren Mielke , Easthampton Public Safety


Congratulations to those selected. This is the second year that the State 911 Department has funded this initiative to build leadership within the 911 Centers in Massachusetts.   MCSA is proud to have been involved in recommending the candidates again this year. 

Saturday, July 13, 2013

MCSA Annual Meeting Held June 19, 2013

The annual meeting and election of officers was held in West Brookfield, MA on June 19.   The membership voted to increase dues per agency from $75.00 to $100.00 effective July 1, 2013.     
 
Regional Vice Presidents were increased to 2 from each region with 1 vote per region on the executive board.

The following officers were elected for the fiscal year 2014 term.
      • President                                             Lee Ann Delp
      • Vice President                                    Steve Hooke
      • Secretary                                             Ed Merriam
      • Treasurer                                            Paula Snow
The following MCSA members were nominated and voted in as Regional vice Presidents to represent the 5 Regions as  Regional Vice Presidents:
      • Essex County                                       Warren Gould and Paul Polonsky
      • Southeastern Mass                               Tracy Eldridge
      • Middlesex& Suffolk County               Don Hancock and Leslie Carroll
      • Worcester County                                Laurie Lyons and Barbara Boiteau
Congratulations to all!
 
The First meeting of the year will be hosted on
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 , 10:00 am
at the New Braintree State Police Academy
by MSP Dispatcher Erin Hastings.

West Newbury's lead dispatcher wins state 911 award



Photo:  Leslie Carroll (left) the first Jeff Grossman Award recipient (1994)
with 2013 recipient Lee Ann Delp.  Carroll is the MCSA Secretary,
Delp is currently serving as President

 
Newburyport Daily News

June 14, 2013By Jennifer Solis, Correspondent



WEST NEWBURY — Friends, family and colleagues of West Newbury’s lead dispatcher, Lee Ann Delp, gathered in the Town Annex yesterday to see the 15-year veteran receive the 19th annual Jeff Grossman 911 Award.

Established by Grossman’s colleagues, the award is presented each year to one individual in the state who exemplifies the staunch dedication to public safety communications that Grossman did during his life, said Robert Watkinson, the president of the foundation that oversees the annual award.

Grosssman’s son, Dan, described his dad as somebody who “wasn’t about ego or personal gain. He was somebody who recognized the bigger picture.” Grossman’s widow, as well as several past award recipients, also attended Thursday’s ceremony.

Delp was presented with a plaque, several dispatcher pins, and $1,500 to cover expenses at a public safety conference for the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) in Anaheim, Calif. this summer.

After receiving her award, Delp thanked her family and police Chief Lisa Holmes for their support and acknowledged her co-workers who covered shifts for her so that she could be free to handle her other public safety commitments.

After working for 14 years with her husband Ron as publishers of the former weekly newspaper, the West Newbury News, Delp launched her career as part-time public safety dispatcher in West Newbury in 1998. She quickly earned a full-time spot and eventually was named lead dispatcher in 2006. In 2012 she was appointed the town’s emergency management director as well.

Since the beginning of her career, Delp has served as a representative for smaller public safety departments on numerous state 911 committees including Emergency Medical Dispatch, NextGen 911, and Wireless Direct. In 2010, she was elected secretary of the Massachusetts Communications Supervisors Association and later that year was named the group’s president.

As president, she has “spent countless hours, nights, and weekends” enlisting membership and educating them on emergency medical dispatch, quality assurance and improvement, according to a written program provided at the ceremony.

Delp has led public safety training sessions since 2005 both as an instructor for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s Nuclear Preparedness division, as an in-house APCO instructor for West Newbury’s department, and as a Community Emergency Response Team instructor. In 2012 she became an adjunct instructor for the APCO Institute.

Frank Pozniak, executive director of the Massachusetts 911 Department, praised Delp’s “unwavering commitment” to local public safety communications — “at least for a few more days” –an apparent reference to the fact that Delp has received a job offer from the Essex County Regional Emergency Communications Center in Middleton.

Delp’s boss, Holmes, said she and Delp are both task-oriented people with “strong personalities.”

“We’re type-A people…who seek perfection all the time and don’t stop until we reach it,” Holmes said. She described Delp as someone who “inspires her co-workers to want to do their best” and “who is always there for all of us, each and every day.”

Selectman Glenn Kemper credited Delp with being instrumental in educating him about factors to weigh when a small town like West Newbury contemplates joining a regional dispatch facility. In 2010, the Board of Selectmen rejected an offer from the Essex County Sheriff’s Department to join the regional facility in Middleton after the plan drew strong pushback from local safety personnel, including Delp.

Delp also received some special recognition from state officials. Barry Pett, a representative from state Senator Bruce Tarr’s office presented her with a proclamation, and Blair Sutherland, of the Massachusetts State Police, noted that her name would be added to a plaque of other winners of Grossman’s telecommunicator of the year award which hangs in the state’s 911 headquarters.

“911 dispatchers are the unsung heroes of the first responder system,” Pett said.

Watkinson agreed, saying, “You don’t hear about them; but if they weren’t there, it wouldn’t get done.”

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Massachusetts State 911 Department Annual 9-1-1 Honors Award Ceremony 2013


The Massachusetts State 911 Department hosted the 4th Annual 9-1-1 Honors Award Ceremony, on Tuesday, June 4th, 2013.   The Annual 9-1-1 Honors Awards Ceremony was not held in 2012.

This award is designed to recognize those individuals who have made a difference in someone’s life, through professionalism, initiative, diligence and forward thinking.

Awards were awarded to the following:

Andover Telecommunicator: John Peterson.

East Longmeadow Police Officer: Scott Skala.

Fall River Dispatcher: Kevin Resendes.

Monson Police: Dispatcher William Chaiffre.

Massachusetts State Police, Northampton E911: Stephen Berube, Donna Burgess,
Patricia Carr, Lisa Carroll, Mary Dzialo, Kerry Flaherty, Richard Greenaway, Kenneth Handfield, Christopher Hutchins, Marjorie Dunn, Kellie LaFleur, Wendy Pariseau, Michael Perkins, Erin Reardon, Ervin Santiago, Brian Swiers, Jeffrey Tatro, Donald Tryon, Kelli Wainscott.

Massachusetts State Police State Police, Shelburne Falls E911: Dispatchers Jason Connell and Cameron Dunbar.Massachusetts State Police.

Massachusetts State Police State Police, Shelburne Falls E911: Dispatchers Jason Connell and Cameron Dunbar.

Newton Police Dispatcher:Andrea Ferguson.

Norfolk Police Dispatcher: Joseph Castellano.

Salisbury Police Dispatcher: Scarlette Balkus.

Springfield Police and Fire Communications Department: Joyce Buchanan, Dove Anna Frierson, Cassandra Godfrey Henderson, Charles Kaercher, Janet Lavallee, Justine Marotte, Amanda Provost, Jeris Mitchell, Penny McCarthy, Robin McCarthy, Anita Paquin, Chris Roberts, Zygmont Szczawinski.

The Sturbridge Police Group: Barbara Boiteau, Scott Belanger, Tyler Bresse, Christine Brunelle, Officer Hillary DaDalt, Toniah Maloney, Eric McLaughlin, Melissa Palmer.
 

Congratulations to all of the award nominees and recipients!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

MCSA invited to attend Smart911 Summit Keynote Speaker Event

SMART 911 SUMMIT May 9, 2013 

Maureen Wills, Newton Ct. 911 Communications Center Director


Members of MCSA were able to attend the keynote address at the Smart911 fourth annual Summit on May 9 at the Copley Hotel in Boston.   The keynote address was delivered by Maureen Will, director of the Emergency Communications Center in Newtown, CT. 


Will’s emotional and informative presentation looked at the agency and town’s experiences on the day of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the weeks and months that followed. 

Will was joined by officials from other recent headline-making events for a panel discussion titled “Coordinating Multi-jurisdictional Responses to Major Incidents.” This included: Joseph O’Hare, deputy superintendent of Boston Emergency Medical Services, who provided insight into the Boston Marathon bombings; Duane Phillips, director of Metro Nashville Emergency Communications Center, who discussed the 2010 floods that left 40 percent of the city under water; and Karen Shilling, police communications analyst for the City of Seattle 9-1-1 Center, who shared recent active shooter experiences. 

MCSA President, Lee Ann Delp said the address and panel discussion was eye opening and was thrilled to have been able to attend.  


Coordinating Multi-jurisdictional Responses to Major incidents Panelists