DES MOINES Governor Terry E. Branstad has designated April as 9-1-1 Education Month in Iowa.
The Iowa 9-1-1 Communications Council and Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division (HSEMD) hope the campaign will help all Iowans recognize the importance of 9-1-1 and the role they play in ensuring effective emergency response. Both the U.S. Congress and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) have also recognized April as National 9-1-1 Education Month.
"9-1-1 public education and awareness initiatives throughout the years have contributed to the ongoing success of emergency communications as a whole," said Barbara Vos, Iowa's 9-1-1 program coordinator.
NENA has made a number of public safety educational resources available for the media, 9-1-1 professionals, educators, and citizens via its website, including an electronic brochure entitled Making 9-1-1 Work for YOU! The brochure is designed to provide essential information about the 9-1-1 system and emergency response.
Iowa's 9-1-1 program has undergone some major changes in the past year. Recently, HSEMD completed an upgrade to Iowa's wireless 9-1-1 network that will eventually allow citizens to contact 9-1-1 using text, video and picture messaging. Iowa is one of the first states to complete a statewide upgrade of its wireless 9-1-1 network to an Internet Protocol (IP)-based system which is more robust and capable of handling the new messaging technology. The upgrade is part of a national initiative called Next Generation 9-1-1, which is being led by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).