One person who had made more than 250 mental health calls to 911 in Knox County, which disrupts serving other people who are in trouble, new Knox County 911 Director Rick Lanuzza told the Knox County Board of Commissioners during its June 11 meeting.
According to the video recording, new Knox County 911 Director Rick Lanuzza said they are trying to figure out what can be done as those calls disrupt serving folks who are really in trouble. Outgoing 911 Director Laura Webster said if that person's calls were removed from statistics, the number of mental health calls would probably be down to where it is expected. Lanuzza also said the county has had 162 attempted suicides this year. Those could be anything from someone saying they were going to try to actual suicides, he said.
Webster said in the video recording that calls to the 911 center remain steady. The peak day for both emergency and non-emergency calls was Friday, with activity peaking at around 4 p.m. Progress continues on implementing the NextGen 911 system, which will allow text and video communication with dispatchers and make it easier for the center to connect with other centers across Ohio. A site visit from the state was made at both the 911 Center and Sheriff's Office on June 4.
Webster also reported that the center currently employs 21 full-time and one part-time staff member, with some still in training. The goal is to reach a peak staffing level of 24 employees.
Dispatch Supervisor Rhonda Owens earned her Excellence and Dispatch certificate from NENA, the National Emergency Number Association. According to Webster in the video recording, Owens is one of only fifteen telecommunicators in Ohio to achieve this designation after completing three required classes within a subgroup she was taking.
