Shawnee Co. dispatch recruits temporary, fully qualified dispatchers to alleviate staff shortages

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Shawnee Co. dispatchers soon. will receive outside temporary help as the agency tries to recruit and train more dispatchers, as agency leaders report satisfactory evaluations of AMR’s “nurse navigation” system.

Topeka/Shawnee Co. AMR suggested county commissioners update the program on Monday, October 28.

Nurse navigation evaluates lower emergency calls and redirects them to more specific responses. For example, can the situation be resolved with instructions over the phone, or can the potential patient be delivered by a third party rather than an ambulance or a friend?

This program was introduced 18 months ago to help the county’s AMR services conserve their resources and offer patients who require emergency care an opportunity to save money.

“With the co-ride portion that is included in the nurse navigation program, which is subsidized by the county and also through AMR. This ride is free,” said John Antrim, Topeka AMR Regional Director. “You know there may still be a bill at the end of the emergency room, but it’s a lot less than the emergency room bill.”

John Antrim, regional director of Topeka’s AMR, says the system includes a portal where patients can call back, get a code or use a smartphone to request a ride back to their residence or include a pharmacy stop at the end of the day or end of their visit.

Based on information gathered from patients who completed surveys about how satisfied they were with their experience, AMR gave the program an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5.

However, Antrim says there is one thing he would like to see improved, and that is community education about caregiving.

“I think one of the areas we can improve on is community education,” Antrim said. “You still get help, right? You’re just getting the right care, and that’s what we really need to do because we’re still seeing a large segment of the population that refuses to use the system and still wants to be transported by ambulance to the emergency room when they don’t have an emergency, which is life-threatening.”

Public Information Officer Abigail Christian of Shawnee Co. Sheriff’s Office reports that a call center typically has about three to four dispatchers on duty depending on the shift, even though they prefer to have five to six dispatchers per shift.

Three dispatchers are currently undergoing training, and six to eight new employees are scheduled to begin training within the next 30 days.

In the past, dispatch could train and replace one or two positions at a time, but earlier this year, Christian says dispatch lost five dispatchers within 30 days.

The training of a new dispatcher takes more than 6 months.

To help alleviate staffing shortages, AMR will soon be assisted by temporary, fully qualified dispatchers for the first time.

“By bringing in a private company for temporary on-demand dispatchers and fully qualified dispatchers, we can immediately address this temporary staff shortage while new dispatchers are trained and qualified. This service will provide greater scheduling flexibility for our current dispatchers and accommodate holiday time off requests. On-demand dispatchers also ensure the center has adequate coverage during peak cold and flu season.

The Sheriff’s Office is very grateful to the County Commission, Human Resources and the County Counsel’s Office for their partnership and assistance in expediting the on-demand dispatch service agreement. We expect these new dispatchers to appear in our communication center within the next 30 days.

We are also very grateful to our current control staff for continuing to work long hours at a high level during this time.

We are currently processing a number of dispatcher applications and have received a tremendous response from the community. Anyone interested in becoming a 911 dispatcher or would like more information about this exciting and rewarding career opportunity can contact Sergeant Harmon at 785-251-2267 or [email protected].”