NEWS
WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | APRIL 18, 2018
11
Maricopa County launches text to 9-1-1 service By Connor Dziawura
The cities of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear and Tolleson police departments, as well as the Luke Air Force Base Fire Department, are among the public safety answering points asking Valley residents to “call if you can, text if you can’t.” Launched Monday, April 2, the textto-9-1-1 service is a collaboration between the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and Maricopa Region 9-1-1, as well as public agencies working with the disabled community, the Arizona Center for Disability Law and the National Association of the Deaf. The text-to-9-1-1 service capabilities span the county. “Texting has become a very important means of communication and we are excited to bring this technology to 9-1-1 service following months of united efforts and leadership,” said MAG Chairman and Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck. The service is essential for those who may be in imminent danger and unable to call, such as in domestic violence or hostage situations. “This is a crucial alternative to a voice call when someone is in danger and can’t talk out loud,” Meck added. Providing additional support to individuals with hearing or speech disabilities is a large part of it as well. “Technology often opens doors and makes life easier, and texting to 9-1-1 will allow people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired to summon emergency services, report crimes, and summon aid for others,” said Rose Daly-Rooney, legal director at the Arizona Center for Disability Law. National Association of the Deaf CEO Howard A. Rosenblum said, “Texting to 9-1-1 makes emergency services more accessible to the more than 150,000 Valley residents who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or have speech difficulties. Maricopa County and Phoenix are providing a model for the rest of the state and country in making their 9-1-1 services accessible to all.” Through the service, emergency responders can still interact with residents, though it takes longer (potentially lengthening response times) and they are not automatically provided with the resident’s location.
Residents who contact a call center through the service are urged to provide their address or location. “It is critically important to always provide the exact location of where the emergency response is needed right away,” said Avondale Police Communications Manager Mike Folia, adding, “It doesn’t matter whether you’re making a voice call or a text to 9-1-1.” As such, and while text-to-9-1-1 is a helpful addition, law enforcement personnel recommend using voice calls unless it’s absolutely necessary. “We are imploring citizens to only text if they are absolutely unable to make a voice call,” said Sharron Jagger, Goodyear Police Department’s 9-1-1 supervisor and assistant training facilitator. “A text conversation takes significantly longer to relay information back and forth than a voice call would. Voice calls to 9-1-1 should still be considered the best practice when requesting emergency response.” She added that delivery delays due
West Valley Women’s Care
O B S T E T R I C S • G Y N E C O L O G Y
to cellphone providers are a possibility. MAG purchased the service last August. It was installed in December. According to Jagger, the preparation was lengthy, as they had to coordinate between cities to ensure each agency was properly trained. “The internal preparation Maricopa County recently implemented a text-to-9-1-1 included creating policies service allowing residents in Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Tolleson and Luke Air Force Base an and procedures for usage alternative means to contacting emergency responders. of the system and in- (Photo courtesy City of Buckeye). depth training for all only received about 1,200 texts in their telecommunications personnel that first year,” Folia said. will be using the system,” she added. “We do anticipate the number to grow Though the service is only available as people become more accustomed to in English, group text and language it being an option. We are especially translation support are in the works. excited to offer this service to our deaf Goodyear and Avondale police haven’t and hearing-impaired community as seen significant usage yet, though they well as those who may be in a situation don’t anticipate a flood of texts. where they are not free to speak. Text to “Areas much larger than Avondale, 9-1-1 provides our citizens with another such as San Bernardino, California, option to reach out for help.”
Our providers make the difference Raymond D. Suarez, M.D.
James M. Johnson, M.D.
Maria R. DiLeo, M.D.
Gema Fernandez, M.D.
Cari L. Cowling, M.D.
Erica McLaughlin, M.D.
Briggs J. Geier, D.O.
Kim Roberts, W.H.N.P.
West Valley Women’s Care provides compassionate, comprehensive advanced Obstetric & Gynecologic care to patients in the West Valley and Phoenix metropolitan area.
G Y N E C O L O G I C S U R G E R Y
Accepting 9305 W. Thomas Rd., Suite 155 New Patients
623-936-1780 www.westvalleywomenscare.com