Medical Dispatch Question!

[N1SQB]

Hello All!

I've been scanning the Hosp. / Ambulance/C-Med Channels more lately. I dont understand something. What exactly is an Alpha-Response? Delta Response? Ect...
I understand the C-Med system quite well. I just had not been monitoring it as close as I have been doing so lately. Can anyone shed light on this? By the way,if anyone is intereted, I have created a small Excel sheet that contains all the C-med designators and codes that someone was kind enough to post on here. it prints out really nice. Send me your email and I will be glad to send it to you free.
N1SQB@AOL.COM

Manny

 

[izzyj4]

The Omega, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo responses stem from Priority Dispatch protocols. Basically it is a flip chart that the 911 dispatcher goes through and asks pertinent questions about what is wrong with the patient.

If it is a long fall over 10 feet with the patient being unconscious its a 17-Delta-1 response for example. A full cardiac arrest would be a 9-Echo-1. These are not the actual codes but are use for example so you can get an idea.

Now the actual break down.

The first number equals the type of problem (1 = abdominal pains, 10 = chest pains, 17 = falls, 33 = palliative care facility transports) It is set up numerically in alphabetical order.

The phonetic alphabet equals the response type
OMEGA = ambulance only, no lights or siren for transportation request to a hospital or just an assistance call. Usually you will only hear this for lift assist calls.

ALPHA = No lights or siren response for a BLS ambulance call
BRAVO = Lights and siren response for a BLS ambulance call
CHARLIE = ALS & BLS response call and is a no lights and siren response (depends on the C-MED region)
DELTA = Priority 1 full ALS & BLS ambulance response, serious injury / medical problem
ECHO = ALS & BLS Priority 1 response for life status questionable (Full cardiac arrests, traumatic arrests)

The last number equals a close description of the exact problem.

 

[N1SQB]

Great! Thanks!
Is there any place where one could get the entire numerical list? just for curiosity. So then,O,ABCDE is it right? Cool! Now Everything will make a little more sense..

Manny

 

[KB1JHU]

Keep in mind that each CMED center uses different codes and such. For clarity, you should specify which CMED you have been listening to. Based on what you have in your post, I'm guessing you are referring to Northwest CMED, but I'm not very familiar with that area.

 

[N1SQB]

Not Quite!
South Central C-Med. But where I have heard these terms the most is in the dispatch of voluntary Amb. Svcs. Im just trying to get a general idea of what the terms mean and I have done that. Now when I hear them, I have a little better understanding of whats going on.

Manny

 

[KB1JHU]

Looking at your original post, you mention "alpha response" and "delta response" which are terms I have never heard on south central, which I listen to all the time. South Central uses the phonetic designators (alpha, bravo, etc) to identify the agency. The only response designations I have ever heard them use is "priority 1" and "priority 2".

 

[dimab]

this dipsatch system is not only used no CMED, lots of dispatch centers across the nation use it.
it's all about sending the right resources at the right speed.
cutting down on als units when not needed is good.
cutting down on emergency response cuts down on chances of an incident when towns/cities worry about insurance prices.

 

[N1SQB]

Well,
It may not be C-MED specificaly that I heard it but I heard it it definitely on the voluntary services dispatches like Stratford,Trumbull,maybe some in the valley. Like I said,I have been monitoring medical calls a little closer lately and these words/ phrases came up. I dont mean to nail them down to one specific entity. I just wanted to understand what they meant.

Manny

 

[SP101]

Deleted

 

[cg]

Here is a file with the codes
View attachment EMS Codes.doc

chris

 

[N1SQB]

HOLY TOLEDO!
Ask and you shall receive! WOW! Thanks.

Happy Holidays!


Manny

 

[rstritch58]

Medical Dispatch Question

The Alpha-Response, Bravo-Response, Charlie-Response, Delta Response, etc. you hear on the radio sounds like Trumbull's dispatch. When the 911 center codes a medical call they announce the level of it (Alpha, Bravo, etc.) and Trumbull EMS looks on its sheet for what units are to respond:

Alpha - Ambulance normal travel
Bravo - Ambulance lights and siren
Charlie - Ambulance lights and siren and Medic normal travel
Delta - Ambulance and Medic lights and siren
Echo - Ambulance and Medic lights and siren
Foxtrot - Amulance and Medic normal travel
Omega - Unknown

Now each town's medical service along with their local medical direction and dispatch can discuss each type of call based on the EMD system they use and decide what types of responses they will have.

 

[N1SQB]

Thanks!
Its interesting how every service can have a different version of the codes. You would think its the same all over.I mean an Alpha-response should be the same in Trumbull and in say Derby just as an example. Interesting....

Manny

 

[emtprt]

Alpha BravoCharile Delta

CMED systems in the state developted slowly through the years. South Central Cmed was one of the earlier systems that begain in the 1970's . They eventally covered 27 towns at one point. In order t0 give each service a distinct ID they utilized the alphabet.

A 3 charecter system was developted

Alpha New Haven FD Rescue units
Bravo Flannagen Amb Service
Charlie New Haven Ambulance Service and so on...

As services were added another letter was used to ID the service

Level of care is distinguished by number

1 BLS first responder
2 BLS transport
3 Heavy(Technical) rescue
4 Intermediate service
5 ALS Service

Then the last number of the ID is the services vehicle ID

So 5 Alpha 1 is New Haven FD ALS unit Emergency Company 1

2 Charlie 25 Is BLS ambulance 25 from New Haven Ambulance Service (now AMR)

The letters have been reused as companies and services were added or consolidated or disolved.

Bravo was Flannagen Ambulance in New Haven, which was purchased by N.H. Ambulance in 1983 and the became AMR in 1991. Bravo is now Ansonia Rescue Medical Services.

Charlie Was NH Ambulance and is now AMR NH
November was New England Ambulance but is now AMR Bridgeport when operating in the SouthCentral region.

The unit ID system came about prior to the Clawsen (I am sure I mis-spelled the name)system utilized to ID specific medical emergencies.

 

[cg]

The list I posted are the dispatch codes, thats what i thought you were looking for (I don't monitor southern CT EMS).
The supposed statewide system has been allowed to go different directions in every region. North Central uses Tax Town ID codes, LCD used plain language, Tolland uses their own FD/EMS unit IDs. I always just used plain language when I would transport into other areas.

chris

 

[N1SQB]

Thanks For The Info. Guys!
What worries me about every area using a different system is this. What if another 9-11-01 type incident happened,(GOD FORBID) and it happened in CT? We would have mass communications confusion. If nothing else was learned from NYC on 9-11 is that we all need to be on the same page, talking the same language. Now Im not in any way saying that we are not prepared here in Ct. I trust and am very thankful for those of you who are out there putting your lives on the line every day. I'm just saying that if we ever have to interact between districts or different areas,in a MASS emergency,the possibility for the right hand not understanding what the left hand is doing is there. I see that the Sierra and Union designators are not assigned. Were they ever?

Manny

 

[KB1JHU]

As far as major emergencies and the CMED system, I don't think it will be a huge problem. They can always just use plain english and as far as unit identifiers, they already have that figured out. For example, when an AMR unit from South Central goes to Bridgeport Hospital (southwest), they usually identify as "South Central 5-charlie-#" on Southwest CMED. When a Southwest unit comes up to South Central, the would identify as "Southwest ###" (### example, 711 = a Bridgeport AMR unit). I have also heard North Central units come into South Central as "North Central blah blah blah". If in a major emergency, that becomes too big a pain in the ass, they can always revert to saying their agency and unit #.

 

[N1SQB]

I suppose you're right!
I hope we NEVER have to find out in real life. I was just listening to South Central as I read this post. They use different repeaters dont they? I mean sometimes you hear a Papa unit loud and clear and then CMED sounds garbled but yet the ambulance was able to hear them. Other times, I hear them talking to the valley units and again CMED sounds either garbled or like when someone is keying the mike at the same time they are talking. I thought that was the case but its happening too often with the same areas to be someone else keying up. I guess they have to have different repeaters for the different areas they cover. South West C-Med does that. They use med 10 with a repeater in the upper ffld county areas like Stamford,Norwalk,Darien,New Canaan,ect..
Am I correct?

Manny

 

[KB1JHU]

I don't pay a whole lot of attention to Southwest, so I'm not sure exactly how they use the channels. I know they use different channels in different areas, I think med 5 around the Greenwich/Stamford/Norwalk area. Not all Southwest sites are repeater sites. South Central has numerous repeater sites throughout the region. I'm pretty sure the site for the valley area is only active when they are talking to valley units since I can barely anything on Med 10 in Derby on my PRO-97 but they're loud and clear when they dispatch the VEMS medics. It seems that South Central tries to keep patches to specific hospitals on the same channel (Med 7 for Yale, 8 for Milford, etc.). I think they only keep a local site on for patches, whichever works best for the patch to go through.

 

[N1SQB]

I understand that!
But have you ever heard the noise Im talking about though? Im refering to South Central now. The doubling type sound like 2 units on at the same time kind of thing? Its weird. I like South Centrals' way of doing things where all the patches are Repeated. Southwest, you have to be within range of the 468.xxx frequency coming in from the ambulance. New Haven county is by far more active than Fairfield county as far as EMS goes. I just moved to this county about 2 years ago. Living and mainly monitoring the Southwestern part of the state most of my life,I never knew this county could be so busy.

Manny