By: Melissa Morreale
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) added a new technology platform to its arsenal of technology being used in the Sheriff’s 9-1-1 Dispatch Center called RapidSOS. This technology better enables dispatchers obtain caller locations and other data quicker.
RapidSOS is an emergency response database. One of the many features is the Emergency Health Profile, which is a free service allowing users to create an Emergency Health Profile that can be accessed in a medical emergency. RapidSOS partnered with the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and Direct Relief to provide responders vital information during emergency situations.
“Being able to quickly and accurately locate callers is critical to being able to respond to an emergency,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Having health profiles readily available through this platform is also a great benefit. I hope the community takes advantage of this free resource. It could just save their life!”
Residents interested in creating a user profile can create a free account at www.EmergencyProfile.org, enter their medical information and any other pertinent information they want to share in the event of an emergency. Users can add their personal information, medical history, allergies, and emergency contact details. All information is strictly confidential and only accessed in the event of an emergency.
Sheriff Staly served as a dispatcher when he started his career, and since he was elected Sheriff in 2017 and with the support and assistance of Flagler County Information Technology, has implemented or upgraded technology in the Sheriff’s 9-1-1 Communications Center to better serve the community. This includes Next-Gen E-9-1-1 and Text to 9-1-1. As part of the Next-Gen E-9-1-1 project, we have upgraded to ESINet (Emergency Services IP Network) which is a fiber-optic connectivity for faster, more reliable routing and interoperability.
In addition and in partnership with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners upgraded the county-wide first responder radio system to a state-of-the-art Motorola P-25 digital system and upgraded the Computer-Aided Dispatch technology.