Austin-Travis County EMS Communications Center Earns Award for Dispatch Excellence

PRESS RELEASE

AUSTIN, TX—Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services (ATCEMS) announced June 22, 2022, that its communications center has been recognized by The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAEDT) as an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) for the eighth time.

ATCEMS received its initial recognition as an ACE in 2000 and has maintained this accreditation (re-evaluated every three years) for the last 22 years. Only ten other agencies in the world have achieved such longstanding accreditation, and ATCEMS remains one of only nine ACEs in Texas, according to an agency release.

The ATCEMS Communications Center is the only public safety department in Austin and Travis County that utilizes a Priority Dispatch System, and all ATCEMS communications medics are certified in Medical Priority Dispatch (MPD).

Accreditation (and subsequent re-accreditation) from the IAED is the highest distinction given to emergency communication centers, the release states.

“Accreditation is truly a pinnacle achievement,” said Christof Chwojka, Accreditation Board Chair at IAED. “We applaud the dedicated call-takers, dispatchers, and leadership team at ATCEMS for their commitment to quality, and for meeting that high standard that few achieve. We know their community can count on these first, first responders to do an outstanding job.”

ATCEMS communications medics use MPD protocols developed by IAED along with additional call triage protocols developed by the Austin-Travis Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO), giving them the ability to provide immediate, accurate, evidence-based medical care to patients over the phone.

“I am incredibly proud of the emergency communications professionals at ATCEMS. Our 9-1-1 call-takers and dispatchers represent the best of the best, and are truly our heroes behind the headsets,” said ATCEMS Division Chief Brian Bregenzer. “They’re speaking with people during the worst moments of their lives. They provide first-line, often lifesaving care to our patients, and they do it all over the phone.”

Aside from the certifications required for ACE eligibility, all ATCEMS communications medics are sworn ATCEMS personnel and are certified emergency medical providers with the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“Austin-Travis County EMS is the finest EMS system in the world, and our communications professionals are an integral part of what makes us great,” said ATCEMS Chief Robert Luckritz. “These selfless prehospital providers represent the calm in the storm for our patients. They face unimaginable challenges on a daily basis, and do so with grace and resilience. Our entire community should be proud of them; I certainly am.”

"Not only did our communications medics uphold the high standards set forth by IAED, but they did so during two-plus years of a pandemic and an unprecedented natural disaster, which triggered constantly changing protocols,” said Bregenzer. “In a world that was changing minute to minute, our personnel showed incredible flexibility, tenacity, and adapted on the fly, while still maintaining the highest of standards to keep our community safe.”