![]() ![]() “Oftentimes, when these people are calling 911 it’s because they … really are in an emergency,” she said. She’s been a consultant to the county looking for solutions. Yeni Silva-Renteria, executive director of the International Rescue Committee office in Wichita, regularly hears about long wait times from the refugees she works with. Sheena Schmutz, Sedgwick County’s chief human resources officer, said that the issue has not been raised since those early budget meetings. Roughly one in 14 people in Wichita say they speak English less than “very well.”ĭiscussion of increasing pay for bilingual employees to boost recruitment stalled earlier this year. The average wait time for those placed on hold is five seconds, according to the television station report. However, these services come with flaws, and like many industries now - including Sedgwick County’s emergency services - the language lines face staff shortages.Ī report earlier this year by KWCH found that about half of calls to 911 in Sedgwick County are not immediately answered by a person, due to staffing shortages. “I can only imagine being (a refugee or immigrant) in a country where I did not speak the language and how frazzled I would be in general,” Forshee said, “let alone while I am experiencing this traumatic event.” Thirty seconds is a long time, she said, when someone’s not breathing, when a heart has stopped, when paramedics are needed at a car accident or a person is bleeding from a gunshot wound. “But sometimes it can take 20 or 30 seconds for us to find a translator, especially when it’s late at night or the language is uncommon.” “Five seconds is our connection goal,” said Elora Forshee, director of emergency communications in Sedgwick County. Connecting a call to somebody who speaks something other than English can add 20 to 30 seconds. The Sedgwick County emergency response system relies on third-party translation services to handle foreign language calls. If you don’t speak English, be ready to wait. Be prepared to give your address, the nature of your emergency and - your language to the 911 dispatchers. We’ve had such great success and feedback with this type of partnership that we have plans to expand to more Sedgwick County cities in the future.When you dial 911, every second counts. “While budgetary constraints won’t allow me to staff a satellite office like before, I’ve teamed up with neighboring agencies to provide all the conveniences of a full-service station. “Ever since the Derby tag office had to close in 2018, I have had many requests to return those services to their area,” Baily said. 3, Sedgwick County said its residents “can pay their real estate or property taxes, apply for a handicap placard and license plate, renew a vehicle tag or have title work done at the Derby Driver’s License Office.” Next week, Sedgwick County Treasurer Brandi Baily, in partnership with the Kansas Department of Revenue, is opening a tag and tax office in the Derby Driver’s License Office at 620 N. (KWCH) - An announcement from Sedgwick County this week comes with a piece of good news for people living in or Derby who miss having a tag office in town. ![]()
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