Posted Thursday March 19, 2009 -- 5:10pm
By Zac Schultz

Madison: John Dejung was introduced Thursday as Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk's choice to be the new director of the 911 center.

"The name of the game here is going to be continuous improvement," says Dejung. "And I'm looking forward to the challenges and opportunities."

The leadership at the 911 Center has been under fire for nearly a year, starting last April, when it was revealed a dispatcher botched the final call for help from murdered UW student Brittany Zimmermann.

Former Director Joe Norwick resigned in September, after it was revealed he lied to the media and County Board supervisors called for his termination.

"I certainly am aware of what happened," says Dejung. He is currently the director of the Minneapolis 911 and 311 centers. He says he's dealt with similar mishaps-including one case where a stroke patient died after an operator didn't call back a victim for eight minutes. "I was able to meet with the press, explain what happened, look at the data, look at the call recordings, the computer aided dispatch systems and learn exactly what happened, and reply- in a very open way- to the media."

Dejung says it's too soon to know if he will shake things up, but he certainly acknowledges that some changes will be made. "I'm looking forward to applying those lessons learned in Minneapolis and again contributing to that continuous improvement here in Dane County."

Here's a little more background on John Dejung:
He and his wife are originally from Stanley, Wisconsin.
He received his MBA from UW Madison in 1988.
And perhaps most importantly, he says he's always been a Packers fan,never a fan of the Vikings.
Dejung will start in June.

Thursday's announcement comes just a couple weeks before the election for Dane County Executive.

Nancy Mistele is running against Kathleen Falk for that position, and she's made the problems with the 911 center a key part of her campaign.

Mistele called the timing of the announcement a political move, saying she would have done this months ago. "I would have said, look, this is extremely important. We need to expedite this process. Joe Norwick retired in September. This process could have been expedited immediately and a new director could have been in place at the first of the year."

Falk says they had to conduct a national search to find Dejung, and this was when they planned to make the announcement all along. "This is exactly the week that was scheduled many many months ago for making this decision."

The election is April 7th.

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UPDATED Thursday, March 19, 2009 --- 11:55 a.m.

From the Office of the Dane County Executive:

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced today the hiring of John Dejung as director of the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center.

Dejung has worked the past 12 years as 911/311 Director for the City of Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis 911 Center was awarded the 911 Call Center of the Year for 2008 by the 911 Institute for its handling and emergency response coordination of the 2007 Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse.

Dejung oversaw millions of dollars in technical upgrades to the Minneapolis 911 Center including the 2006-07 replacement of that center's computer aided dispatch system.

He has served as President of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and was two-year chair of a 911 national industry group called the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO). Dejung has also served as chair of the Minnesota Metropolitan 911 Board Technical Operations Committee.

"His extensive experience overseeing important 911 technical upgrades and working with public safety agencies and oversight groups make him the perfect director to see our center through the important enhancements that are both underway and still to come," Falk said. "John has the right experience, the right credentials, and a can-do attitude that will serve our center well."

A recently completed independent audit of the Dane County 911 Center by Matrix Consulting found the Center is "operating at a high level of effectiveness and efficiency."

The auditors also recognized "the focus on providing high quality service and the constant efforts to innovate and maintain the PSCC (Public Safety Communications Center) at the forefront of emergency communication."

According to the most recent call data statistics presented to the Center Board on March 18, the Center is answering 911 calls on average in less than one ring.

"Our highly trained team of 911 Center professionals handles over 640,000 calls a year.

From teaching CCR (cardio-cerebral resuscitation) over the phone to friends and family of heart attack victims to helping nervous fathers deliver very premature babies in cars along the side of the road on bitter cold mornings, our dispatchers are true first responders," Falk said.

Dejung was ranked highest among finalists interviewed by the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center Board.

The Board interviewed ten finalists and submitted its top three candidates to Falk on March 10th and the Executive interviewed each of the three.

Dane County retained a national search firm (The Mercer Group, Inc) to recruit and screen candidates for the director's position.

This week's announcement follows the hiring timeline the county laid out when it retained Mercer's services.

In addition to his 911 work, Dejung has 18 years experience as a Coast Guard officer in which he was commander of three ships and senior operations duty officer for the southern California/Baja Mexico Coast Guard operations center.

He was also Coast Guard staff chief for a 22-state region where he oversaw 425 staff and 19 Coast Guard cutters.

Dejung earned his Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on December 23, 1988.

He is married to Janet Dejung, also from Stanley, Wisconsin where John was raised. They have three children; Joshua and Jeremy in college and Jessica in high school.

Dejung's first official day as Dane County Public Safety Communications Director will be June first. His starting salary will be $120,000.

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UPDATED Thursday, March 19, 2009 --- 11:35 a.m.

From NBC15's Zac Schultz:

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has announced the new director of Dane County's Public Safety Communications Center.

John Dejung has been named the new director. He is expected to start in June.

Dejung ran the Minneapolis 911 system previously. He received his MBA from Madison. He and his wife are Wisconsin natives.

The County board is expected to approve the recommendation.

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UPDATED Thursday, March 19, 2009 --- 8:45 a.m.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk will hold a press conference on Thursday, March 19th to announce her selection of a new Director of Dane County’s Public Safety Communications Center.

The press conference will be held at 11:00 a.m. in the County Executive’s conference room.

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UPDATED Thursday, March 12, 2009 --- 8:30 a.m.

From NBC15's News Partner, WIBA:

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has begun interviewing the finalists to head the county's 911 Center.

It's a story you heard first on News/Talk 1310 WIBA.

The list includes former Madison Assistant Fire Chief Philip Vorlander. He is currently the fire chief in Des Moines, Iowa.

John DeJung is also a finalist. He runs the 911 Center in Minneapolis. He got a master's degree in business administration from UW-Madison.

Eddie Goldsmith is the other finalist. He runs the 911 program for the State of Idaho. He is a former Dane County 911 dispatcher. He passed over for the head job here in 2007 when Joe Norwick was hired.

DeJung is the favored candidate among members of the board that oversees the 911 center, which submitted the list to Falk.

No word on when Falk will make a final decision.

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UPDATED Tuesday, February 17, 2009 --- 7:30 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A recent review of the Dane County 911 Center has found that 72 percent of calls it receives are not emergencies.

The center has been under review since the April 2 murder of Wisconsin-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann. She called 911 on her cell phone, but a dispatcher failed to return the call after it was disconnected.

Report author Travis Miller of the Matrix Consulting Group in Andover, Mass. says that dispatchers often are answering phone calls for people who should have a voice mail box.

The report was mainly positive of the 911 center in terms of response times and call backs to disconnected calls despite the Zimmermann case.

In an average week, the 911 center gets 12,635 calls. Of those, 9,101 are non-emergency.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED: Thursday, February 12, 2009 --- 8:25 p.m.
REPORTER: Chris Woodard

Dane County board is learning the results of an Audit on the county's 911 system.

The Center has been under fire since that botched emergency call from murder victim Brittany Zimmermann last April.

Board members are learning firsthand how their 911 center is performing and what needs to be done to improve it. There are 79 pages of results but pretty simply the conclusion is the 911 center is doing a good job but could be doing better.

The audit says the center is very effective and very efficient but it says the biggest area for improvement is a lot of miscommunication among staff about policies and procedures.

It's something dispatchers themselves backed up in surveys where they say they feel they are understaffed, disorganized and need new equipment.

County Executive Kathleen Falk says, "Completely understandable. We have about 80 staff who come to work everyday here. We ask them to do a very important and very stressful job. They have asked for and will be getting additional training as you see in this training center."

Travis Miller with Matrix Consulting Firm says, "This is a fine dispatch center. I've been in good ones and I've been in bad ones and this is a good one. I think that people should feel confident that when they call 911 they're going to get good service and help will come when they need it to come."

There is a new CAD computer system on the way but some are suggesting that process should be sped up to get it installed more quickly.

You might remember 9 new dispatcher positions have been approved and those people will be starting shortly

County Board Chair Scott McDonell says he is very committed to taking every single one of these suggestions and implementing them as soon as possible.

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UPDATED Thursday, February 12, 2009 --- 12:55 p.m.

Today, the second part of the audit (of the Dane County 911 center) has been released. This audit was ordered after the 911 call was mishandled in the Brittany Zimmermann murder.

Finding:
While formal policies and procedures are comprehensive and well written, staff must also frequently review and attempt to recall numerous emails and memos.

Recommendation:
The PSCC currently distributes changes to directives in an on-going basis. These are periodically included in updated Directives, but in the interim they are stored in emails, online folders and other venues. The PSCC should move to a bi-monthly or monthly update cycle, reducing the constant flow of incremental changes. In addition, training should be provided for staff to ensure that the most critical policy changes are reviewed and fully understood.

Finding:
The public safety communications center has been too accommodating to policy changes by its client agencies. A process should be put in place to minimize the risks associated with staff having to remember key protocols.

Recommendation:
The PSCC should, after consulting with the Center Board and its advisory committees, develop a formal process for considering, evaluating and implementing changes in its operating policies and protocols that originate with the client agencies.

Finding:
Concern regarding the frequency of disconnected calls and the frequency with which those calls were not called back. The quality assurance program has shown that the PSCC staff called back when a call back was warranted in all but 0.065% of calls under the QA program where 3% of calls are reviewed.

Recommendation:
The PSCC should continue with current policies and practices – both in their handling of 911 calls (land-line and cellular) that require a call back and the process by which incoming calls are randomly selected for quality assurance review. Recent changes to the process and the technology in support of that process make this review easier for staff to accomplish and improve the accuracy of these reviews.

Finding:
An enhanced new hire training program will be implemented at the beginning of March.

Recommendation:
The PSCC’s new plan for training up to 10 new Communicators at one time will allow them to achieve full staffing, even with the nine (9) new positions that have recently been authorized. The training plan for achieving this effort is still under development, but the first two phases have been designed and are ready for implementation on March 2 when the new class enters training.

Finding:
Assurance to 911 callers to stay on the line in-lieu of hanging up and redialing.

Recommendation:
The PSCC should place a prerecorded message on 911 phone lines assuring the caller they reached 911, not to hang up and an emergency dispatcher will answer shortly. The message should be played between rings three and four.

Finding:
Adopt the following performance / effectiveness measures.

Recommendation:
The County and the Public Safety Communications Center should adopt a more detailed and formal performance measurement and management plan. Additional standards may also be desirable, depending on policy objectives.

Finding:
Formalization of several processes will enhance the management of policies and procedures and internal investigations and other processes.

Recommendation:
The PSCC should adopt several policies to formalize practices already largely in place. These include institution of time limits for investigations of internal misconduct or complaints, notification procedures for the complaint receipt, investigation and resolution process and policies relating to policy and procedure development and implementation.

Finding:
Implementation of technology should be considered for enhanced efficiency and communicator productivity.

Recommendation:
The PSCC and Center Board should continue to work with the Technical Committee and the Purchasing Department to expedite release of a RFP for the replacement of the PSCC CAD system. Once a Consultant is selected, strong emphasis should be placed on a timely CAD implementation.

Finding:
Reduction of nonemergency calls into the PSCC requiring a 911 Call Taker to answer, provide information and direction / process information.

Recommendation:
The PSCC should install phone tree technology on certain incoming listed telephone numbers. Ongoing evaluation should take place measuring the percent of callers using the technology and reduction of call-taker workload. This system should cost less than $30,000 to purchase and implement, depending on the number of phone lines and the complexity of the tree itself. This should result in reduced call flow in the center.

Finding:
Unresolved PSCC Strategic Plan Objectives.

Recommendation:
Staff evaluates and develops timelines for successful completion of each unresolved Strategic Plan Objective. This should include an assessment as to whether these issues are still desirable objectives. Assign each unresolved PSCC Strategic Plan Objectives to an individual to manage through completion (Objective Manager). Objective managers should have necessary authority to meet established timelines in the most efficient manner. Authority should include team development if applicable.

Finding:
Staffing dedicated to management and customer service needs to be increased by one position to improve service delivery.

Recommendation:
The PSCC should be authorized to add one Communicator level position to serve as a CAD Analyst. This position can serve rolls currently handled (in part) by the Operations Manager as well as offer expanded services and information to the PSCC and its client agencies. This will also allow the Operations Manager position to be focused on the day to day operations of the Center and on client relations.

Click HERE to read the report

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UPDATED Thursday, February 12, 2009 --- 3:35 p.m.

Statement from Nancy Mistele, candidate for Dane County Executive:

Middleton – Following the release of the Phase II audit by the Matrix Consulting Group, Dane County Executive Candidate Nancy Mistele issued the following statement:

When three fourths of 911 Center employees believe they’re undertrained, ninety percent believe the center is understaffed and fewer than a third believe the process of answering 911 calls is efficient and effective, you simply can’t claim our 911 Center is fixed.

Those charged with keeping us safe day to day are doing the best they can, but Kathleen Falk still has not given them the tools and training they need to do their job. That’s why we see this crisis of confidence among 911 Center employees. For these serious problems to still be lingering five years after Kathleen Falk was given a road map to fix our 911 Center is inexcusable.

It’s also remarkable that the audit didn’t even consider surveys from the police and first responders who rely on the 911 Center to do their jobs.

To truly understand and fix the serious problems at the 911 Center, Kathleen Falk would need to listen to those on the front lines of keeping us safe. Clearly she did not, and again, Dane County’s safety is put at risk because of it.

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UPDATED Thursday, February 12, 2009 --- 2:55 p.m.

From the Office of the County Executive:

I am pleased to receive the second phase of the Matrix audit of the 911 Center. The County Board Chair and I requested this audit that the County Board approved and supervised. We received the first phase of the audit on 12/11/07; this second phase completes Matrix’s work. As the County Board and I have worked to improve the 911 Center over the last year, we wanted a fresh, objective, expert review of the system to let us know how the system is functioning and what additional improvements would be helpful.

The audit is a careful, responsible piece of work. The County Board and I are reviewing it immediately and thoroughly, and will act quickly.

Knowing the County Board and my commitment to the 911 Center and the hard work of its staff, I anticipated the audit’s conclusion that the Center is performing at a “very high level” (page 9) and achieving the standards of a high-quality, large-volume 911 Center. The auditor, for example, comments: “… it is important to recognize that the Dane County PSCC is operating at a high level of effectiveness and efficiency. The project team has been very impressed with the quality of staff, the focus on providing high quality service and the constant efforts to innovate and to maintain the PSCC at the forefront of emergency communication” (page 2).

This judgment combined with specific references to the 911 Center’s “high performance” (page 4) confirms that Dane County residents receive excellent, reliable services from the 911 Center meeting or exceeding national standards, answering calls quickly, successfully implementing Priority Fire and Medical Dispatch, and enhancing training and quality improvements.

The audit also confirms the progress we have made in implementing the Center’s Ten Year Strategic Plan and supports the steps we have taken to bolster the 911 system.

I believe five recommendations should be prioritized.
· Accelerate CAD Work. A new CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) is central to the efficiency of 911; CAD-compatibility will also be the key factor in changing or accepting new protocols from the police, fire, and emergency medical services that use 911. The new $4 million CAD is included in our Capital Improvement Plan and the first half is invested this year. Thanks to additional technical staff that the County Board and I have added and who will be on the job soon, we can and will accelerate the design and implementation of this project.

· Consolidate protocols. The audit clearly identifies the numerous protocols from 85 different agencies that our communicators serve as one of the biggest ongoing challenges for 911. While I realize that individual law enforcement agencies have strong views about what protocols should apply, this audit makes clear that the greater good is best served by limiting the number of different protocols. That is why in November of 2008 I asked the 911 Center Board to review and, where possible, simplify and consolidate these protocols. I had asked the Center Board to complete this project in six months; this audit provides additional impetus to their efforts.

· Automate non-emergency calls. The audit shows 72% of calls into the 911Center are on non-emergency lines. I am eager to analyze and act on the automated tree-phone proposed by this audit. The issue of non-emergency calls is a priority for the City of Madison and the County to work through in our current contract negotiations; the Mayor and I intend to have these negotiations concluded this spring.

· Training for staff. 911 staff have stressful jobs that ask much of the men and women who take on this challenging and critically important work. The audit recognizes the success of the priority dispatch services, especially with the improvements in accountability and training. For all the success of Medical and Fire Priority Dispatch, it is clear that some of our veteran communicators are not yet comfortable with the procedures they must rigorously follow in implementing those services. The expanded training program, the new training facility , and the new class of 10 recruits starting in March will address these and similar concerns held by 911 staff; I will continue to evaluate and improve their training.

· Performance Measures. The audit states the 911 Center meets or exceeds the large majority of performance measures (page 2). I will direct the 911 Center to immediately adopt the several additional performance measures recommended by the audit, such as to communicate any changes in protocols or procedures more formally via a “master memo” monthly (page 13).

I very much appreciate the efforts of Matrix and Karin Thurlow of the County Board staff, who supervised the audit, and the 911 management and staff, especially interim Director Kathy Krusiec and Operations Manager Rich McVicar, who provided the data and information Matrix needed.

This audit is neither the end nor the beginning of a process to continually improve 911 services but is another important step. I look forward to working with County Board supervisors, law enforcement, fire and EMS, Sheriff Mahoney, the Center Board, the City of Madison, and other local governments to improve the County’s 911 system.

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Posted Thursday, November 6, 2008 --- 10:45 p.m.
Reporter: Chris Woodard

Officials get results from an audit ordered after the Brittany Zimmermann 911 problems were reported.

The first of two phases of this audit were released Thursday and as for what it means for the state of the 911 center, it depends on who you ask.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk says, "When mistakes happen and human error occurs, which it does, then our job is to go back and re-double our efforts to make sure people are trained and we have the best system."

The Dane County 911 Center has been under fire since the mishandling of a cell phone call from Brittany Zimmermann.

In the wake of those problems, Falk hired a private firm to come in and take a look at what, if anything, needed to be changed and she is pleased with the results.

Falk says, "We have a center that is well staffed, that answers calls from our 911 center very quickly is the exact result."

Despite her positive spin, those who completed the study say there are staffing concerns.

Matrix Consulting Vice President Travis Miller says, "The problem is that from a workload perspective, the workload doesn't meet the public policy objective that you've adopted."

Falk has called for the hiring of 6 more dispatchers in next year's budget but auditors say the center needs at least 9.

The study also shows those taking police calls are generally much busier than those taking fire and EMS calls. Some county board members favor dropping down to one fire and EMS dispatcher with the others shifting over to the police side but the auditors say that's a risky idea.

In fact, one board member says they think that change may have prevented Monday's murder, a situation that's obviously at the front of everyone's mind.

Falk says, "I am issuing a set of directives tomorrow to our 911 center that says if there is any doubt, ever, on the other end of the line that there is a public safety need, we will dispatch police."

Miller says in his opinion the 911 center is generally well run but many are looking forward to January when the results of phase two of this audit will come out.

One city alder and member of the 911 board says phase one is pretty vanilla but he's looking forward to phase two that will focus on the center's management, policies, and show the results of employee and client surveys.