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Key Personnel
Charlotte Gentry
Director of Communications
Position Overview:
Ms. Gentry plays a crucial role in managing the day-to-day operations of the Communications Center. Her responsibilities include overseeing employees' handling of emergency responses, managing both emergency and non-emergency calls, providing life-saving instructions, dispatching public safety personnel, addressing general requests for assistance and information, and maintaining critical records for the administration of public safety.
Experience:
Ms. Gentry's has extensive career background. Starting as an EMT and dispatcher in 1996 in Georgia, she has gained experience in field operations, dispatch, and quality assurance/quality improvement (QA/QI). In 2014, she took on the role of Quality Assurance Coordinator for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. Additionally, her experience in public speaking on Mass Casualty incidents and Active Shooter events is noteworthy, especially considering her personal experience as a survivor of the 2017 Mass shooting in Las Vegas.
Training and Education:
Ms. Gentry completed her Bachelor's of Science in International Affairs in 2009. Continuing her education, she earned her Master's Degree in Emergency Management in 2013. This educational background contributes to her expertise and effectiveness in managing emergency response and operations at the Communications Center.
Communications Center
The NorthStar Emergency Medical Services Communications Division responds to your ambulance requests 24 hours a day. Located in Tuscaloosa County Alabama inside the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Operations Center, NorthStar EMS Communications is responsible for answering all emergent and non-emergent ground ambulance service requests.
NEMS utilizes the TriTech Respond CAD system. Our IAED ACE certified Emergency Medical Dispatchers use the latest in internationally recognized emergency medical dispatch protocols by ProQa Paramount. The ProQA Dispatch Software System integrates the power of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch’s protocols with today’s critical CAD technologies. Our Center is comprised of nine computer consoles each capable of receiving and dispatching any ground ambulance request received.
The NorthStar EMS Communications Center operates on a system of flexible deployment referred to as S.S.M. or System Status Management. Through a regular review process with municipal officials of your area’s call volume data, proper placement of Advanced Life Support ground ambulances occurs. Simply stated, our ambulances are positioned where the highest likelihood that an emergency could exist.
Our Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) play a vital role in the pre-hospital emergency medical services system by querying callers for vital information so proper resource allocation can occur based on location, nature, and priority of the medical emergency being reported.
Our EMDs use medically certified pre-arrival instructions that allow them to provide the 9-1-1 caller with critical life-saving instructions over the telephone that they can carry out while our paramedic units are responding to your call for help.
The NEMS Communications Center coordinates daily with local, state and federal officials to provide coverage to all of the areas we service.
For more information on becoming IAED ACE certified emergency medical dispatch professional, please contact us at 205-345-0911 or email Charlotte Gentry the
Director of Communications at
Charlotte. Gentry@northstar-ems.us.