Restructured Emergency Department highlights readiness and planning
Lowry explained that having specific roles allow them to have “separate duties" that allow them to focus on operations, planning, and public safety individually.
Throughout the past year, some major changes have taken place within Floyd County’s Emergency Management Department, which is now led by three county employees who have very specific roles when it comes to emergencies.
Daniel Lowry, who also handles IT Operations for the county, is the Director of Public Safety; County Administrator Kim Chiddo doubles as the Director of Emergency Management; and Dustin Thomas, chief of Floyd's Emergency Medical Services, is also the Director of Emergency Operations.
Lowry explained that having specific roles allow them to have “separate duties" that allow them to focus on operations, planning, and public safety individually.
Growing up in Riner, Lowry said that Floyd has "always felt a bit like home." After earning his master's degree in cybersecurity, Lowry explained, "the prospect of leaving the region and raising my children in a big city never appealed to me. When an IT role opened with Floyd County that perfectly matched my technical background, it felt like the right place to build my career."
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"Today, serving as both Director of Public Safety and IT Operations allows me to seamlessly blend technology and community protection," Lowry said. "Looking back, choosing Floyd over opportunities elsewhere is a decision I have never regretted."
Lowry and Thomas are moving full speed ahead with the Emergency Management changes and upgrades that the county needs, and they're planning to run practical exercises to test the changes and efficiency.
One such exercise will involve the Board of Elections and staging a scenario “where we pick up the voting center and move it to the backup center,” Lowry said. Other exercises are planned to take place throughout the year so that emergency responders and the coordinating departments have the opportunity to practice real life responses. Lowery noted that he feels that the changes made will allow the county “to be more resilient."
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One of the biggest changes, according to Lowry, is having more "communication between departments to bring everyone together." He said the department is "trying to open up those lines," noting that the county team has also been making a push for the public to sign up for the Floyd County's new Alert System called Everbridge.
Under this system, residents can sign up for phone or email alerts on any of the following:
- Informative Fire Department Alerts
- Informative Law Enforcement Alerts
- Board Of Supervisors Meetings
- Community Events
- Job Postings/Employment Opportunities
- Power Outages
- Public Meeting Alerts
- Public Works Alerts
- Traffic Information-Closures
- Water Outages
- Community Announcements
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Lowry said that this system will allow the Emergency Department to alert the public to "any emergency" in real time. He said that being able to collaborate on planning "makes us more prepared for disasters. In the past we (Floyd County) have done some planning, but it's not been on the scale that we're planning to do it on... We are going to start looking into emergency sheltering options.”
Floyd County is also in the process of a large radio project right now, which includes updating and upgrading. Lowry said the upgrades will provide “much larger coverage over Floyd County.” It also includes a specific dispatch-monitored channel for the school's bus system.
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Thomas, who has worn many hats for the county as Chief of EMS, Director of Emergency Operations, and the Emergency Management Coordinator, is excited that "Floyd County citizens can look forward to more community interaction. Emergency Management is more visible now than ever before. We are improving interoperability between our various first responder agencies and supporting new ways for those agencies to create and promote community programs."
Thomas expressed his gratitude for community members that work in the streets to serve our community. "As a first responder myself, I always want to showcase the boots on the ground," he said. "We have an amazing group of volunteer firefighters that work until the job is done solely because of their love for their neighbor. We have a very strong EMS team that provides the highest level of care available in pre-hospital medicine — they bring the ER to your living room when you need it most. Our Sheriff's Office continues to protect and serve our community with the highest level of integrity. Our Emergency Dispatcher's role continues to grow within our system as they have taken on a new program for Emergency Medical dispatching in addition to their roles in dispatching law enforcement and fire departments."
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County Administrator Kim Chiddo said that she "could not be more proud of this team. They have taken their individual roles and advanced them to exceptionally high levels... We are all excited about the present and future of the Emergency Department and creating a team focused on safety, efficiency, communication, and internal and external relationships. Dustin and Danny are more than ideal for these positions, and I and Floyd County are fortunate to have them."
