James G. Hicks, Chief of Police
20 East Central St.
Natick, MA 01760
Monday, Nov. 7, 2016
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Denise Amber Lee Foundation to Evaluate Natick Police Department’s Emergency Medical Dispatch Calls
NATICK — Chief James G. Hicks is pleased to announce that the Massachusetts State 911 Department has approved a request by Natick Police Department to utilize state funding for a Third Party Quality Assurance Call Review Agreement provided by the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.
This agreement will allow the Natick Police Department to conduct quality assurance evaluations of its Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) calls in an effort to provide world class response to the citizens of its service area who are in their greatest need for life saving assistance.
“The Denise Amber Lee Foundation’s passion for advocating for widespread, national adoption of quality assurance practices throughout public safety agencies and their professional, objective quality assurance evaluators was the main reason to utilize their services,” said Natick Public Safety Lead Dispatcher Charles Goodwin. “This will be a beneficial check and balance of our in-house evaluations and allow us to review our EMD calls and free up our staff.”
“This is an incredible commitment to the citizens and first responders served by the Natick Police Department,” added Denise Amber Lee Foundation President Nathan Lee. “We hope this will be a stepping stone to all the other agencies in Massachusetts to better utilize their limited staffing and benefit from the totally unbiased, objective call evaluations that our experienced staff can provide.”
After three years of committee meetings, national 911 conference work sessions, and five regional Quality Assurance validation panels around the country, the Denise Amber Lee Foundation celebrated the first ever, APCO/NENA ANS 1.107.1.2015 Standard for the Establishment of a Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Program for Public Safety Answering Points a little over a year ago.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation was part of this national effort to identify a 911 specific quality assurance process in the belief that an Internal Affairs Investigation is not the time to assess the quality of a call for help. Five foundation board members participated in the work group, including work group Chairman Eric Parry, former 911 Program Manager for the state of Utah.
“The Denise Amber Lee Foundation was key to the creation and completion of the new Quality Assurance standard for use by 911 centers across the United States,” Chairman Parry said. “Their participation and steadfast resolve to see the standard completed facilitates the adoption and implementation of a much needed tool that is now available to any center willing to adopt it. This new standard provides the tools needed to ensure that 911 personnel are enabled to do a better job at what they do – to become the best that they can be.”
About the Denise Amber Lee Foundation:
The mission of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, a nonprofit, is to promote and support public safety through uniform training, standardized protocols, defined measurable outcomes, and technological advances in the 911 system. Established in June 2008, in response to the murder of Denise Amber Lee, the foundation seeks to use the emotional power of this senseless tragedy to promote and encourage the use of technology, training, and procedures to reduce the occurrences of human error. The foundation is determined to channel and focus the public outrage of these tragic events to drive rapid change to public policy and procedures. For more information, please visit deniseamberlee.org.
About Natick Police Department’s 911 Communications Division:
Natick Public Safety Dispatchers assist the community with all police, fire and medical calls. The 911 Communications Unit operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Dispatchers are the unseen partners of police officers, firefighters and medical personnel and receive specialized training in communication skills and handling critical incidents so that they may effectively serve the needs of the community.
Mission Statement of the Natick Police Department:
“We, the Natick Police Department, in partnership with our community, are committed to maintaining the peace, protecting life and property, and providing professional law enforcement and crime prevention services. We accept the challenge of reducing the fear of crime by the prevention of criminal activity.
“We shall provide these services with compassion, dignity, and proficiency within the framework of the United States Constitution.
“To enhance the quality of life for all citizens, we will cooperate with other agencies and groups to resolve community concerns.
“To fulfill our mission, the police department will provide a supportive work environment that fosters the professional development of its members.
“Service will be our commitment …..
Honor and integrity will be our mandate.”
Additional Media Contact:
Denise Amber Lee Foundation
Mark Lee
941-830-2035
marklee@deniseamberlee.org
###