NAPA -  On April 16, 2018 and on the heels of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) Member Services Representative Jim Laughlin visited communications operators working at Napa State Hospital (NSH).

NSH is a custodial facility that provides treatment for the criminally insane. Communications operators conduct essential public safety functions including performing police dispatch for the hospital.

Additionally, NSH medical and support employees wear personal safety alarms while on duty at the hospital​. When a personal alarm is activated for an assault or medical emergency, the communications operators are immediately notified.  Communications operators locate the staff member who triggered the alarm and send the appropriate emergency response.  Communications operators are a lifeline for all hospital staff, patients, and visitors.

“We thank all of our state hospital communications operators for their role in public safety,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.  “They are the center of first response at the facilities in which they work.”