Independent advocacy, not a government site. kyems.org, kydispatch.org and kynurse.org are not the Kentucky Board of EMS, the Kentucky Board of Nursing or the Kentucky Nurses Association, and are not affiliated with any PSAP or 911 center, EMS agency, hospital or the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Looking for a board? kbems.ky.gov · kbn.ky.gov

kydispatch.org

Answer the call. Then go home on time.

No forced holdovers without pay. No call-ins on days off. On-call that’s paid. Training that isn’t stacked on top of a twelve. That’s the floor, not a favor.

Add your name See what we stand for

At the console — and the voices in the headset:

911 Telecommunicators EMS/EMD/Fire/LEO Dispatchers Flight Communications EMTs Paramedics Nurses Flight Nurses Flight Paramedics Flight EMTs Pilots

What every Dispatcher already knows

The 0200 text asking who can come in. The holdover nobody volunteered for. An emergency tone from a radio nobody can identify. None of it is in the job posting — and all of it is why centers can’t stay staffed.

From the console

0200: “Can anyone come in?” — “Everyone, I need someone to stay over. Any volunteers before I check the list?”

Hour sixteen of a twelve. Who forgot about the broccoli on the stove?!

A ten-minute break, taken at the console. Eating with gloves so the keyboard stays clean.

What we stand for

A floor that works

  • Staffed consoles. Enough Dispatchers on every shift.
  • Crews always reachable. Coverage in every unit and portable.
  • Know who is calling. Every P25 radio with a unique and accurate ID and name at the console, and an emergency button someone answers.
  • LZ hazards relayed. Wires and towers near landing zones, passed to every flight crew.
  • Peer support. After the worst calls, by default.
  • Violence protection. Dispatchers and Telecommunicators named in KRS, including threats over the line.

Time that is ours

  • No forced holdovers. Not without proper pay.
  • Days off are off. No mandatory call-ins.
  • On-call is paid. Waiting by the phone is work.
  • Eight hours off after a twelve. Rest before the next shift, guaranteed, and no more than seven days in a row.
  • Real breaks. An uninterrupted 30-minute meal break, paid if you work through it — and a quiet place to take it. Relief covers the console so the break is real.
  • Training we can attend. Not straight after a shift. Night shift are people too.
  • Work/life balance. Your leave is your time. No mandatory meetings on vacation. No calls or texts when you’ve finally managed to relax.

Speak up safely

  • A safe coworker. No one should share a console room with someone who makes unwanted advances, crosses lines or makes the floor feel unsafe. Concerns are documented, investigated and acted on — not waved off as “he said, she said.”
  • Report without retaliation. Harassment and safety reports go to someone outside the chain of command, and the person who reports is protected. Nobody gets told to keep quiet.
  • Handled the right way. Complaints are investigated promptly and impartially by someone outside the chain of command. Two people in every meeting, the option to ask for an interviewer of a particular gender, a written record, and no contact between the parties while it’s open.
  • Safe to step away. Anyone who reports harassment or violence can leave the area with pay, take up to two paid shifts away, and is never transferred just for reporting. No discipline for reporting violence, and no one discourages a police report.
  • Someone in your corner. Trained Persons of Confidence support anyone who reports harassment, from the first conversation to the outcome.

Pay that counts

  • Pay scale and incentive. Base pay plus years of service, with a DOCJT career-path incentive.
  • Pay in the open. Published pay ranges by region.
  • Keep good Dispatchers. Retention, not churn — a full-time core and a career path worth staying for. Know your worth.

Leaders who lead

  • Transparency. Staffing, overtime and call volume numbers in the open.
  • Human and strong. Leaders who lead by example, know the console, communicate with compassion and support the team.
  • A voice where decisions are made. When staffing, budgets and policy are decided, the people doing the work have a say — through representatives they choose, not only through management.
  • A seat at the table. Dispatch in Kentucky bargaining law.
  • Every console counts. County, city, consolidated center or hospital — all covered.

Mark the wires.

Every air request starts at a console. Flight Nurses, Flight Paramedics, Flight EMTs and Pilots land at night beside power lines and towers they can’t see — and dispatch can pass along what the crew can’t. Orange marker balls are cheap. Wire strikes are not.

Owenton, Kentucky · October 7, 2024

Air Evac 133

A Pilot, a Flight Nurse and a Flight Paramedic were killed when their helicopter struck a guy wire on a 601-foot tower beside the high school landing zone. A clear afternoon, a low sun. The NTSB’s final cause is still pending — but marked guy wires near landing zones could prevent strikes like this one.

Source: NTSB preliminary report ERA25FA005

Where

Near helipads and landing zones, and over every river, valley and highway.

How

To the FAA standard: big orange, white and yellow spheres, about 200 feet apart.

Keep them up

A faded ball is a missing ball. Inspect and replace.

Relay them

Known wires and towers near every landing zone, on the screen and read to the crew with every air request.

Stand with Kentucky Dispatch

Dispatchers, crews, families and neighbors. Your name stays private unless you choose otherwise.