PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Puerto Rico's 911
Emergency System was initiated in 1994 and for several years
struggled with issues including lack of equipment, administrative
difficulties and deficiencies in the Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) system (see Rapid Response Program, Spring 1998).
The system was further burdened with numerous non-emergency calls,
resulting in an average emergency response time of more than
35 minutes. The 911 System was widely criticized by citizens
and the media, and was perceived to be unreliable.
In an effort to
address deficiencies in the 911 Emergency system, the director
of the Puerto Rico Traffic Safety Commission was appointed as
director of the 911 Emergency System. The new 911 director sought
to combine his traffic safety expertise with the Safe Communities
concept to develop a comprehensive emergency response program.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The 911 Safe Community
Campaign was created in 1998 to restore confidence in Puerto
Rico's 911 system, and to reduce emergency response time. To
assist in achieving these goals, the following objectives were
developed:
- To improve interagency
cooperation among police, EMS, fire, boating, civil defense and
health departments
- To reduce the number
of non-emergency calls to the 911 System
- To establish a
prevention program to reduce the number of emergencies
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Applying the same
strategy as he used as Director of the Puerto Rico Traffic Safety
Commission, the new 911 director sought to utilize the Safe Communities
concept to determine the scope of the problem with the emergency
system. Representatives from law enforcement, EMS, civil defense,
fire, boating and the health department cooperated to identify
specific problems associated with the 911 system, and how to
handle prevention measures. Activities employed to address the
problems included:
- A mass media campaign
was launched using television, radio and press ads to educate
the public about the causes of various injuries and how they
can be prevented. Information on injuries resulting from traffic
crashes was presented first, because of the 911 director's familiarity
with the magnitude of this issue
- The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Safe Communities overhead
presentation was expanded and used to encourage communities to
embrace the Safe Communities concept. Discussions of the dangers
of placing non-emergency calls to the 911 system were emphasized
at the community level as well as in the mass media campaign
- Brochures, posters,
stickers and coloring books were developed to highlight prevention
as a key component of the 911 System
- Because children
were identified as placing many non-emergency calls to the 911
System, officials created a super hero modeled after the Virgin
Islands' Captain Caribbean, with a special costume and
robot sidekick that plays safety messages when kids press the
controls
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