System Status Controler (Medical Dispatcher)

The Emergency Medical Dispatcher (System Status Controller) is responsible for receiving, prioritizing, and coordinating emergency and non-emergency medical service requests to ensure timely and effective response to the community's healthcare and public safety needs. This position utilizes emergency medical dispatch protocols, provides pre-arrival medical instructions, dispatches appropriate resources, and maintains situational awareness of system operations. The System Status Controller supports daily EMS communications, resource deployment, multi-agency incident coordination, and operational continuity while ensuring compliance with accreditation standards, confidentiality requirements, departmental policies, and applicable laws and regulations. This role requires strong communication, decision-making, and multitasking skills in a fast-paced, high-stress environment.Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include any of the following?representative duties, knowledge, and skills. This list is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and duties performed by incumbents of this class. Employees are required to be in attendance and prepared to begin work at their assigned work location on the specified days and hours. Factors such as regular attendance at the job are not routinely listed in job descriptions but are an essential function.  Essential duties and responsibilitiesmayinclude, but are not limited to, the following:

• Answers incoming emergency and non-emergency calls; obtains required information for emergency responses and enters related information into the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system; prioritizes calls for service.
• Utilize emergency medical dispatch protocols to determine the appropriate level of response.
• Provide pre-arrival medical instructions to callers, including CPR, choking, childbirth, bleeding control, and other life-saving interventions.
• Dispatch ambulances, paramedic units, supervisors, and specialty response teams as required.
• Relay critical information to responding crews in a timely and accurate manner.
• Assist with multi-agency incidents, mass casualty incidents, disasters, and special events.
• Responds to calls, incidents, system disruptions, staffing shortages, emergency activations, or operational tasks as assigned by management.
• Is subject to mandatory call-back, holdover, overtime, emergency staffing assignments, and operational coverage assignments to maintain MED-COM operational readiness and continuity of service.
• Completes and maintains all testing, competencies, certifications, and functional requirements required to perform System Status Controller duties and any assigned functional area, including billing-support, documentation, training, quality assurance, or operational responsibilities.
• Ensures the appropriate confidentiality and security of departmental records and reports, including but not limited to billing information, patient care reports, training records, quality assurance data, findings and recommendations, radio transmissions, and communications records.
• Supports compliance with applicable accreditation standards, emergency dispatch protocols, quality assurance requirements, and departmental performance standards.
• Ensures patient information, including written records and radio transmissions, is handled in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures, departmental policies, HIPAA requirements, and applicable laws and regulations.
• Ensures MED-COM work areas, rest areas, and shared environments remain orderly, clean, safe, and professional.
• Maintains effective working relationships with employees, emergency services personnel, County staff, partner agencies, outside organizations, and the public.
• Demonstrates the ability to exemplify, by their actions, the County PRIDE philosophy.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS / CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Must successfully complete any department-approved, job-related pre-employment testing or skills assessments required for the position.
• Must successfully complete required background checks, including fingerprint-based criminal history checks, FBI/CJIS-related screening, and any other checks required for access to public safety communications systems, criminal justice information, protected health information, or County systems.
• Must maintain eligibility for access to CAD, radio, telephone, emergency communications, criminal justice information, patient information, and other systems required for assigned duties.
• Must comply with applicable CJIS, HIPAA, departmental confidentiality, information security, and public safety communications requirements.
• Failure to obtain or maintain required system access, certifications, background clearance, or testing standards may result in disqualification from appointment or inability to continue in the position.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education, Training and Experience Guidelines:

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Must possess or obtain within the timeframe established by the department any licenses, certifications, or credentials required for the division.

Skills in:

• Communicating effectively verbally and in writing.
• Listening effectively and communicating clearly.
• Customer service principles, practices and etiquette.
• Maintaining confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive information.
• Organizing work, setting priorities, meeting deadlines, and performing duties efficiently while managing frequent interruptions and competing priorities.
• Exercising sound judgement in a high-stress, time-sensitive environment.
• Typing and entering data with speed and accuracy.
• Maintaining accurate records and documentation.
• Handling multiple tasks and competing priorities with frequent interruptions.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Two (2) years of experience in emergency communications, EMS dispatch, ambulance operations, public safety communications, or a related functional area.
• Experience with Emergency Medical Dispatch protocols and quality assurance processes.
• Experience with Computer-Aided Dispatch systems and public safety communications technology.

QUALIFICATIONS MUST BE OBTAINED WITHIN ONE YEAR OF HIRE

• Iowa Telecommunicator Basic 40-Hour.
• International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Certification.(During System Certification Process)
• Valid BCLS Healthcare Provider certification. (During System Certification Process)

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT

• Work is primarily performed in an emergency communications center and office environment. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to sit for extended periods; speak clearly and effectively; listen to, understand, and respond to telephone, radio, headset, and in-person communications; use hands and fingers to operate computers, keyboards, mice, phones, radios, headsets, and other office or communications equipment; and view computer screens, CAD systems, maps, call information, reports, and other visual displays for extended periods.
• The employee must be able to receive, interpret, and respond to visual and auditory information accurately and in a timely manner, including information from CAD systems, telephone systems, radio traffic, mapping systems, alarms, recordings, quality assurance systems, and in-person communications, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• The employee must be able to maintain attention, accuracy, confidentiality, and professional judgment in a fast-paced emergency communications environment with frequent interruptions, competing priorities, multiple information sources, and time-sensitive operational decisions.
• The employee may be required to work flexible hours, including days, evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, extended shifts, holdovers, mandatory overtime, emergency staffing assignments, and mandatory call-back based on operational needs.
• The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, bend, reach, stoop, kneel, or crouch.
• The employee must frequently lift or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift or move up to 25 pounds.
• The employee must be able to perform the essential physical, visual, auditory, verbal, and cognitive functions of a System Status Controller when assigned, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.