King County EMS Emergency Medical Dispatch is excited to announce our third Continuing Education (CE) course of the year: Altered Levels of Consciousness, launching on September 11th!

Each quarter, we roll out a new CE module to support your growth and confidence on the job. So far this year, we’ve covered Sending the Right Resources and Sick/Not Sick. Now, we’re diving into a topic that’s often complex but critical: recognizing and responding to changes in a patient’s level of consciousness.

This course explores everything from mild confusion to complete unconsciousness. You’ll learn:

➤   🧠 What causes altered consciousness
➤   📞 How to spot key signs during a call
➤   📋 Which protocols to follow in real time

We’ve packed the course with practical tools, real-world examples, and clinical insights to help you understand the “why” behind each step. Whether you’re new to dispatch or just brushing up your skills, this module is designed to boost your confidence and sharpen your decision-making.

Stay tuned! This course goes live September 11th on EMSOnline.

Each newsletter is a chance to highlight the tools, resources, and people who help Call Takers and Dispatchers do what they do best—deliver lifesaving care with skill and confidence.

In our last edition, we introduced you to the team behind EMSOnline and the work they do to build meaningful training content. This time, we’re turning the spotlight to someone whose role is key in shaping how we respond to cardiac emergencies: the Program Manager for Telephone CPR (T-CPR).

Get ready to learn more about the person behind the protocols, and how their work supports your efforts on the front lines.

Hello! 👋

I’m Lindsey, you’re friendly, local TCPR QI Research Assistant. That’s a lot of letters to say! I listen (and fill out a 60-some odd question questionnaire) to all confirmed cardiac arrest calls that come through Norcom, Port of Seattle, and Valleycom. This data filters into a greater Cardiac Arrest Surveillance System (CASS for short) that follows a cardiac arrest from the time of 911 pick up to exit from the hospital. The data is used for QI to all providers, and used for many medical research purposes. I’ve been involved in numerous studies, pulling data for researchers and sharing my subject-matter-expert point of view.

I also manage the CPR Survivor Letters and Challenge Coins, as well as the yearly KCEMS Telecommunicator Awards. As a previous call receiver myself, I absolutely find this my favorite part of my job; providing recognition and positive outcomes for some of the hardest calls taken is a full circle moment.

I came to King County EMS after 10 years of being a CR/CR-CTO at Valleycom. I had just had my first kiddo and was tempted to have something more schedule-compatible with my husband’s firefighter shifts, but that still allowed me to have reached the 911 arena. Now, over 10 years later, I’m still here listening to cardiac arrests and making my small contribution to the EMS world. I’m so proud of the training KC-EMS provides, and believe King County call centers are some of the best around!

When not listening to the sad stuff, I’m a busy mom of 4. We recently moved to Central Washington to live the hobby farm dream. Cats, dogs, chickens and goats are living the good life while we make space for 2 baby mini donkeys, cattle and pigs. If there happens to be any other smidge of free time around here, you can catch me attempting to garden, lost in a book, Pinterest-failing a craft, or sipping a good beverage at a local family friendly brewery.