HOT SPRINGS -- The recent release of a 911 call made in July by Circuit Judge Wade Naramore to get medical assistance for his 18-month-old son, Thomas, has raised questions about the process for such calls in Garland County.
Since the recording was released, commenters on social media have criticized the number of times the call was transferred to reach the ambulance service and the time involved to make the transfers. A preliminary investigation showed Thomas Naramore died as the result of being left unattended inside a hot car.
Because of the way the Garland County 911 system works, Wade Naramore's call was answered at the Garland County sheriff's office call center, then transferred to the Hot Springs Police Department center and then transferred to LifeNet, LifeNet General Manager Jason Gartner said.
Gartner said Monday that the 911 dispatch centers in Garland County worked the way they were designed to work during the call.
"I believe the first call from Judge Naramore was made on a cellphone, and because of that, the call hit a cell tower -- and the tower is designed to take the call and push it to either the city or county 911 centers," Gartner said.
Bo Robertson, director of the Garland County Department of Emergency Management, said there are five Public Service Answering Points in Garland County. The two primary points are the police department and the sheriff's office. Secondary points are LifeNet, Arkansas State Police Troop K and the Hot Springs Village dispatch center.
"The primary centers are where the phone calls come into when you dial 911. About 88 percent to 91 percent of all phone calls that come into a [Public Service Answering Point] are cellphone calls, which do not tell exactly where a person is, but you can get close," Robertson said.
Gartner said that when the 911 system was installed, design decisions were made to determine if there were safety issues to consider at the scene, mainly from a law enforcement perspective, but including other threats, such as hazardous materials.
"Those two [primary communication] centers have the law enforcement component in them, and once they determine there is not a law enforcement issue going on where the police need to show up first, and they determine it's a medical issue, they transfer the call to us," Gartner said.
Along with a "fairly rapid" audio transfer, automatic number and location information is displayed on the LifeNet center dispatchers' screens so that they see what is on the original 911 call center screens, including any Smart 911 information available.
Gartner said more than one person works in the LifeNet communication center. Sometimes everyone in the center is busy on calls, and other times they can all answer the same call so that one person can be speaking to the caller on the phone and someone else can be on the radio directing the ambulance crew to the scene.
"A big part of the reason why it's done the way it is, is because part of our contract with the city requires us to maintain a [communication] center, and in addition to the normal dispatch system, it requires us to maintain certified personnel who can give pre-arrival instructions, such has how to control bleeding, or CPR instructions, and everything in between over the phone," Gartner said.
"But there is no scenario in our system design where it's possible that anyone in this county can call 911 and the first person they talk to is ever going to be a LifeNet person. It always goes somewhere else first," he said.
Gartner said a years-old discussion recently resurfaced about having a consolidated dispatch center, which might address some of the issues that have been raised.
"I think it's a solution to some of the problems, but as with everything, there are pluses and minuses, pros and cons. In the end, in my opinion from a LifeNet perspective, I think we'd be supportive of that concept.
"But, like every agency involved, we have some special needs that are unique to us, such as making sure that someone has the training to give instructions about CPR, bleeding control, whatever.
"That's a contract requirement, but it's also the right thing to do. When people call 911, they should start getting help right on the phone and not have to wait until a person shows up."
Gartner said one thing the recording didn't reveal is that as soon as the county dispatcher transferred the Naramore call to the city dispatcher, the dispatcher called LifeNet to let personnel know the call would be coming.
"That's pretty normal and needs to happen that way. There is a huge safety component because a high number of calls we go to have some safety issue involved. We don't have weapons or vests to protect the staff, so we need law enforcement to arrive first and make sure we're not walking into something we can't handle," he said.
State Desk on 11/20/2015