Imagine that there is a medical emergency in your physician practice, and you need an ambulance immediately. A number of scenarios can take place, if the proper precautions aren’t taken. Here are two examples:
Scenario #1: Your receptionist calmly dials 911, and the telephone call appears to go smoothly until the EMS unit doesn’t arrive for minutes. Why the delay? Couldn’t they find your office?
Scenario #2: In a panic, your receptionist forgets the office address and gives the incorrect information.
What’s the solution?
We recommend that you take proactive measures, so that when you need local fire, police or EMS, they arrive in a timely manner at the correct location.
There doesn’t appear to be a uniform street address signage requirement in the State of New Jersey. Some counties within the state mandate 911 street address signage for uniformity purposes, and others leave it up to the individual municipality. In any case, locating your home or your business in an emergency can be a problem for local emergency first responders.
You will also hear the term E911 – that means simply that the 911 system has enhanced capabilities for identifying the caller and the caller’s location. Sometimes the information in the E911 system data files is incorrect, so the information being displayed to the 911 dispatcher at the time of your call is incorrect.
Also, the information could be correct, but yet without a visible street address, emergency services may still not be able to locate your office. That’s why it is important to re-confirm your information with the 911 dispatcher when placing your emergency call. Try to stay calm and answer all of the dispatcher’s questions. If available, send someone outside to flag down the emergency first responders.
Preventative measures
First, each telephone within your office should have a 911 sticker attached to it. Sometimes you may have to dial a one-digit prefix to access an outside line before dialing 911. This should be identified on your sticker (dial “9-911”). Your address should also be included on the sticker. If your practice is located within a larger building that has multiple suites or floors, you need to be specific about your location within the building. If your office is located in a rural area, knowing the nearest cross street and/or landmark could expedite the response of emergency first responders to you.
An example of a 911 sticker on office phones.
Second, ensure your street address is visible from the roadway. Keep the area around your street address clear of overhanging branches, or cut bushes back for greater visibility. Place the street address in an area that is lit at night if possible. Drive by your office at night to check if the street address is clearly visible. Remember in rural areas to mark both sides of your mailbox, so that it is visible from either direction. Upkeep is important; nothing is worse to a first responder than a sign with a missing number.
