Each year, we take some time to say thank you to our true first, first responders with National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW). This week is all about YOU! Emergency communications centers (ECCs) around the world celebrate at different levels. Some agencies have elaborate themes and celebrate all week long, while others don’t celebrate at all.

A few weeks ago, I saw a post on social media about ‘adopting a center’. This was a group of telecommunicators who acknowledged that some centers do not receive any thanks, or any type of celebration during this special week. With that in mind, a telecommunicator suggested collecting some of those centers’ names, and allowing people (or centers) to ‘adopt’ a center for that week to send surprises, gifts and thank you cards to celebrate them.

This amazed, but did not surprise me. Being a hero is not just your job, it’s who you are.

I hope each of you takes a moment to reflect back on the past year and celebrate the successes. You have impacted lives daily, you have been the calm voice in someone’s darkest hour and you have been the only hope for many in their most dire moments. You have been challenged greatly and you have stood strong. 

On behalf of your APCO Executive Committee, I would like to thank you for the work you do every day. We celebrate you, and we are extremely proud of what you do to keep the thin gold line shining.

~ Margie Moulin, APCO President

Don't forget to visit the NPSTW website throughout the week next week to vote for your favorite public safety superhero stories! The contest ends April 19.

APCO needs your support. A major infrastructure proposal – the LIFT America Act – has been introduced in Congress that includes $15 billion to support the deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1 throughout the country. The NG9-1-1 provisions adhere to principles established by APCO and its partners in the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition, a broad group of national public safety organizations representing law enforcement, fire, EMS and 9-1-1. We ask that you send a letter of support by clicking on the take action link and please share this widely with colleagues.

TAKE ACTION

For more information, read a recent APCO press release and check out this recorded webinar.

These webinars are free to APCO members and worth one CDE. If you can't attend the live sessions, register anyway to gain access to the recorded webinars.

Roundtable: Addressing Today’s Top 9-1-1 Staffing Challenges
April 22 | 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET

For 9-1-1 center managers, the past year has been more challenging than most. In addition to the everyday concerns facing ECCs, managers now must deal with the after-effects of COVID-19 and navigating new challenges around how to best manage and motivate multi-generational staffs. The speakers will discuss top challenges and steps they’re taking to mitigate the potential outcomes from these challenges.
Register

Sponsored by NICE

Using Technology to Address First Responder Health and Wellness Needs
April 28 | 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET

The speakers will provide examples of emergency communications professional distress and discuss two applications available in the FirstNet Catalog to help address some of these common risk factors.
Register

Sponsored by FirstNet Built with AT&T

Communications Center Supervisor is designed specifically for comm center supervisors and candidates moving into leadership roles in the ECC: offered April 26-28 (Virtual Classroom) or April 28 - June 21 (online). Fundamentals of Tactical Dispatch prepares telecommunicators to work as part of a tactical dispatch team that responds to incidents that involve multiple agencies: offered May 20-21 (Virtual Classroom) or May 5-25 (online). 

Take the next step in your emergency communications professional development with APCO’s Certified Public-Safety Executive (CPE) Program. Now accepting applications through May 15 for the program beginning in July 2021. The CPE Program is designed to develop the necessary skills to successfully lead public safety agencies now and into the future as we move our industry forward. Applicant requirements and additional information is available on the CPE Program page.  

On April 2, APCO and others suing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filed a reply brief in court. The filing responded to the FCC’s defenses of its controversial rules permitting new unlicensed use of 6 GHz that threatens public safety and other microwave links. Public safety agencies rely on the 6 GHz band to support critical 9-1-1 and first responder communications. As the sole party representing public safety agencies in the litigation, APCO ensured that the joint response highlighted several concerns about the FCC’s failure to consider the risk to public safety. Stay tuned for further updates. Read more on APCO’s efforts to protect public safety use of the 6 GHz band.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI have released a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory to warn users and administrators of the likelihood that advanced persistent threat (APT) actors are actively exploiting known Fortinet FortiOS vulnerabilities. APT actors may use these vulnerabilities or other common exploitation techniques to gain initial access to multiple government, commercial and technology services. Gaining initial access pre-positions the APT actors to conduct future attacks. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the advisory.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) is offering funding for state and local governments, their designees, or other entities that operate or have authority over emergency communications centers to operate medical triage lines aimed at reducing inappropriate use of emergency ambulance services and increasing efficiency in EMS systems. Applicants must share at least one zip code with service providers that are already participants in the CMS Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) Model. The ET3 Model is designed to facilitate ambulance transport to alternative treatment destinations or treatment in place (in-person or through telehealth). For more information, see the ET3 Model's webpage. Get details on the grant opportunity. Applications are due May 11.

GeoComm Awarded Nationwide Purchasing Contract Through North Carolina Sheriff’s Association