The Lyon County Emergency Communications Center has been a state leader in the utilization of technology to help further the profession for some time now. Recently, those efforts were recognized by the center’s video to 911 provider.
Pepared, a developer of technology systems that assist 911 dispatchers in their jobs, recently named LCECC as a Prepared Center of Excellence. LCECC Director Roxanne Van Gundy expressed her pride in the acknowledgment and her staff who all helped to make it possible during a recent interview on KVOE’s Morning Show.
Van Gundy says while the technology is still relatively new with many centers across the state “hesitant” to implement it, she and her staff knew it would soon become a standard and decided it was best to be ahead of the curve.
Van Gundy says utilization of the service was “slow-moving” at first, but in recent months use has seen a positive upswing.
To utilize the service, residents must first establish a 911 call after which time they will receive a link for a live-stream connection. Van Gundy says there has been some hesitancy from residents with this due to fears that the link will give dispatchers access to their phones.
Van Gundy quelled those concerns saying the link does not grant the center any access to a caller’s phone system.
LCECC has been utilizing Prepared’s video to-911 service since 2022 and was one of the very first Kansas centers to do so. In addition to the video to 911 service, LCECC has also been providing text to and from 911 for the past several years making communication with emergency responders easier for residents who may be in the midst of an emergency situation.
Along with being a pioneer within the state, Van Gundy tells KVOE the center has also been a resource to other dispatch centers across Kansas.
