Quality Assurance

Program Philosophy & Approach

QA Every Day

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation strongly believes that the purpose of a Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement program is to recognize telecommunicator strengths, as well as identify performance areas that need improvement. The result should be a standardized operation that provides an environment of consistent and ongoing advancement in the delivery of call taking and dispatching services.

The quality assurance/quality improvement program strives to establish seamless call taking and dispatching protocols. These include, but are not limited to, how calls for service should be processed, as well as how information is relayed to the responders. Performance criteria standards should describe in detail how information should be relayed and updated, while ensuring that all aspects of the incident are handled correctly.

Telecommunicators should be able to expect to receive appropriate, effective and timely feedback of the reviews. Areas of strengths should be identified. Guidance, additional training, and/or corrective action for any areas where the employee is in need of improvement (i.e., performing below the agency’s defined standards and expectations) should be provided. This ultimately allows for the achievement of the best outcomes for the community, the sworn personnel and the telecommunicator.

To that end, the Denise Amber Lee Foundation offers a variety of services, which includes audits of existing QA/QI programs, modifying, updating or helping to build policies, procedures, performance criteria and customized forms for law enforcement, fire and medical call taking and dispatching. Additionally, we offer full pre-implementation services with our Director of Quality Assurance.

Testimonials

The entire team at Denise Amber Lee Foundation is truly dedicated to making sure your agency's program not only succeeds but that your team members are given POSITIVE and CONSTRUCTIVE feedback that will increase employee buy-in and in turn public safety during the process. If you are thinking of developing a QA program for your agency Denise Amber Lee should be your first, last, and only call.

Christopher Campbell

Communications Administrator, Town of Falmouth

We really couldn’t be happier with EMD QA service that DALF is providing. Why didn’t we think of doing this sooner?!

Our resources are limited, with DALF doing our EMD QA, we are able to get more accomplished.

M. Ross Klun, MPA, ENP

Executive Director, Nashoba Valley Regional Dispatch District

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation quality assurance service being provided is professionally completed and provides a completely unbiased evaluation process. Additionally, the service provides accountability, while also saving valuable time. Our agency appreciates the level of detail and feedback provided the impartial evaluators.

Carol-Ann Days

Director of Communications, Seekonk Massachusetts PD

By partnering with the foundation for 3rd party QA, we are able to provide our telecommunicators with a thorough, completely independent, high quality review of their calls they process in a timely manner. We have limited admin support and would not be able to provide an in-house product that is anywhere near what we receive from the foundation.

Gregory Lynskey

Communications Center Director, South Worcester County Communications Center

Third Party Evaluations

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation offers third party Quality Assurance Evaluator/Educators (QAEs). These QAEs are highly qualified emergency communications professionals with considerable experience in quality assurance/quality improvement efforts. The DALF QAEs will consistently evaluate calls for service and dispatches that are processed by the telecommunicators in a manner that is fair and accurate. The QAE objectively evaluates the information and data, measuring it against the policies and procedures adopted or defined by the agency. The DALF QAE will work from the available records (CAD incident notes and recordings) to evaluate all the pertinent information and data related to a random sampling or targeted review of the calls for service and/or dispatches. The turn-around time is less than 14 days from receipt of the audio and CAD information, which provides on-going and timely dissemination of the review to acknowledge and/or strengthen your staff’s skill sets and abilities. Implementing a Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement program is one of the most important advances in emergency communications. If your agency undertakes this initiative it will be in the forefront of this evolution.

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