Oriskany, New York --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- September 20, 2006 - The Oneida County Department of Emergency Services announced today that they have new technology to enhance their emergency response capabilities. “We, in addition to our fire departments and 9-1-1 center, use the software as an alerting system for the public,” explained Fred Van Namee, Director. “And, I anticipate that our use of this technology will expand over time.”
The emergency notification system is made up of two solutions from Dialogic Communications Corporation (DCC) — Communicator! NXT and GeoCast® Web. The first, Communicator! NXT, works as a calling engine that quickly sends voice and text messages to all types of communications devices, including phone, email, pager and fax. The software is powered by Microsoft® .NET™ and SQL technologies and can be accessed by selected officials from any location via phone or web.
GeoCast Web, Dialogic’s map-based component, works in conjunction with Communicator! NXT. It allows the department to select targeted notification areas on digital, street-level maps — ranging from a single city block to an entire county. GeoCast Web will then send messages by phone to affected residents.
“We recently used the technology to alert a number of residents about flooding on their road,” Van Namee said, referring to dangerous storms in upstate New York that created a state of emergency for Oneida County.
When Dialogic’s software is activated, residents receive a message containing important up-to-date information, such as evacuation routes, shelter locations or missing person alerts. In addition to communicating with local residents, the Oneida County Department of Emergency Services will also use the new system to mobilize first responders. The technology can automatically deliver detailed information or instructions regarding the situation-at-hand, and accordingly fill positions, collecting valuable details, such as ETA and more.
About The Oneida County Department of Emergency Services
In Oneida County, the Department of Emergency Services is lead by the Director of Emergency Services and comprises three separate offices: The Office of the County Fire Coordinator, The Office of Emergency Management, and the Office of Emergency Communications 911 Center. Though each office has its own unique mission, their functions often blend together to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of county residents.
Oneida County Department of Emergency Services Automated Communications Through Technology
Cambridge Health Alliance Selects Amcom Software’s e.Notify™ Emergency Notification System
Automates public health communications and disaster recovery procedures
Minneapolis --[Emergency Notification News]--September 19, 2006 – Cambridge Health Alliance today announced that it has selected e.Notify™ emergency notification software from Amcom Software to automate its emergency communications procedures for managing disasters across its multi-hospital network. The new system is HICS (Hospital Incident Command Center)- compliant and supports emergency planning processes for this multi-hospital healthcare system, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.
“We needed an automated process to help us manage our organizational communications,” said Bob Lewis, Director of Networks and Telecommunications for Cambridge Health Alliance. “With e.Notify from Amcom, we will have the tools for training and drilling, which will prepare us for various types of critical events such as weather-related emergencies, bomb threats or a health-related crisis. In the event of a disaster, we’ll be ready to communicate quickly and effectively to a mass audience and monitor and measure response.”
Cambridge Health Alliance will install e.Notify in all three of its hospitals and will roll out emergency communications procedures across its entire organization. As part of the
HICS structure, the software will integrate with communications policies and procedures the hospital already has in place. With e.Notify, the process will be completely automated, handling two-way communications and tracking procedures with both internal and external audiences, including emergency response teams from local municipalities.
New York City's REMSCO Obtains New Emergency Notification System
System alerts emergency medical responders in 74 EMS agencies to improve communications interoperability
New York City - [EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 18, 2006 - The Regional Emergency Medical Services Council (REMSCO) of New York City is no stranger to crisis situations. In order to support emergency medical services in a city with over nine million residents, this non-profit corporation must coordinate dozens of Emergency Medical Service agencies every day.
To “improve communications interoperability,” REMSCO announced today they have acquired an emergency notification solution developed by Dialogic Communications Corporation (DCC), the pioneer and leading provider of the technology.
“We have 74 EMS agencies in New York City,” explained Nancy Benedetto. “And, our notification system will enable us to communicate emergency information and send alerts to those agencies in a very short time.”
Communicator! NXT a web-based notification software from Dialogic. It automates emergency and routine communications, rapidly sending voice and text messages to devices, including phone, email, pager and fax. Communicator! NXT is powered by Microsoft® .NET™ and SQL technologies.
With Communicator! NXT, REMSCO will be able to mobilize multiple units within the 74 EMS agencies, located throughout the city, in just a matter of minutes. The organization will also be able to send out routine messages, which will improve the communication flow in such a vast operation.
The Regional Emergency Medical Services Council (REMSCO) of New York City is responsible for coordinating emergency medical services in all five boroughs of New York City. The Council was established and designated by the NYS Department of Health to be the policy and administrative authority within the New York City region.
U.S. Navy Awards AtHoc with Contract to Provide Network-centric Emergency Notification Systems Reaching up to 400,000 Personnel in Four Navy Regions
AtHoc IWSAlerts Helps to Fulfill the Navy’s Anti-terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) Needs to Rapidly Alert Personnel about Emergencies and Provide Critical Instructions
BURLINGAME, Ca. -[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- Sept. 12, 2006 – AtHoc, Inc. today announced the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego has selected and procured AtHoc IWSAlerts™ to serve as the networked alerting system for four of the Navy’s sixteen regions around the world. The Navy purchased twelve enterprise edition server licenses of AtHoc IWSAlerts as well as the add-on Weather Alerts Module. Using the Navy’s existing IP network, AtHoc IWSAlerts will be used to alert up to 100,000 personnel at each of the four regions within minutes of an emergency event occurring.
The AtHoc alerting system, named the Computer Desktop Notification System (CDNS) by the Navy, will be used primarily by the Regional Operations Center (ROC) within each of the four regions. ROCs operate 24/7 and have the primary responsibilities for all Navy installations and personnel within a defined geographical region. Their efforts are supported by Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) located on individual bases within the region, which will also be able to activate the system. CDNS will work in conjunction with installations’ outdoor PA and telephony alerting systems to deliver, within minutes, alerts to over a hundred thousand networked devices in each region, including desktops, laptops, PDAs and even cell phones.
“For a complex organization such as the Navy, effective emergency alerting isn’t just about distributing information. It’s also about pre-planning and managing the emergency notification process,” said Curt Kolcun, vice president of Microsoft Federal. “Using AtHoc IWSAlerts, built on Microsoft Windows and SQL Server technologies, the Navy can do exactly that.”
AtHoc IWSAlerts’ management system can determine who needs to be alerted to deal with a situation, figure out what types of information and instructions should be sent, decide who has the authority to alert whom and with what information, and also measure the overall effectiveness of the alerting process. It also includes organizational management tools that allow the ROCs and EOCs to assign varying levels of permissions to different operators. One operator may be authorized to send alerts to all personnel in a region while another would be limited to base personnel only, or even to personnel who are members of a specific tenant agency inside a base. This provides great value to the Navy, which manages multiple bases and tenant organizations within each region.
City of Inglewood Introduces 3n Mass Notification System To Inform Residents Of Emergencies And Important Public Service Announcements
Inglewood, CA --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]--September 7, 2006 -- The City of Inglewood announced it has contracted with 3n (National Notification Network), a mass notification system provider, to more effectively reach large numbers of residents and to communicate concurrently with City staff in an emergency or for important public service announcements. Through 3n’s notification service, the City will have the ability to record messages that can instantly be transmitted to residents, businesses and City personnel to keep them informed during critical emergency situations or to inform them about routine events happening around the city.
The City will use the 3n mass notification system to alert residents about emergencies such as terrorist events, toxic environmental issues, fires, and other incidents where citizen response time is critical. In addition, the City plans to use the 3n system to notify residents about routine activities such as street maintenance projects, water utility issues, special events such as the annual MLK and Cesar Chavez parades, and to solicit citizen feedback regarding public interest issues.
The 3n mass notification system will be implemented in phases, starting with incorporating it into the internal communications processes for City staffers. Next the City will deploy the 3n mass notification system to assist the Parks, Recreation and Community Services, Public Works, and Police Departments with their communication needs. After addressing all internal audiences, the City will begin resident notifications using an initial test message to a select group of residents in different areas of the City. Residents who do not want to receive routine recorded messages will have an opportunity to opt out of future notifications.
“Clearly, at this time in our country’s history, local governments have to be able to communicate with their personnel and constituencies in real time,” said City Administrator, Joe Rouzan. “The 3n mass notification system will allow us to serve the community more efficiently and effectively.”
Source: Vendor Press Release