SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Employees with the Chatham County Emergency 911 Center completed a survey in December 2023. Questions addressed the work environment and their career development. Ninety-six people were employed at the center when the survey was taken. Seventy-eight of those workers completed it. Twenty-nine people left written responses detailing disturbing mental health issues among some employees and more concerns. One positive written response was given, which stated that there are opportunities for advancement in the department. The rest are from concerned employees, stating they work overtime too much, fair opportunity is not given, further training with their new computer-aided dispatch system is needed, their mental health is not a priority and more. One of the responses reads in part, "We have had employees make suicidal statements or express burnout, but we haven't had any training on mental health or how to handle stress. Instead, a directive was issued requiring a doctor's note for all checkoffs, even just one day. No doctor's note, no pay." Lock your cars: Uptick in reports of break-ins on neighborhood social media forums Another response detailed a coworker's suicide. It reads in part, "We are given a chaplain (who calls us by the wrong name), or maybe a counselor for a day if we need to talk to someone. We are never given debriefings like the police to provide some sort of closure. We worked our own coworkers suicide while on shift with no relief, knowing she was deceased, we had to finish our shift." Regarding this response, the county wrote: "The County provides the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to all county employees free of charge and will have EAP on-site when requested by a department. The 911 Center has had two employee deaths, one in 2016 and one in 2018, both under a previous administration. Each time employees were offered EAP services and Chaplains were brought in to talk with staff.  In December of 2023, the Department officially brought on a Chaplain and they along with the Director met with staff in February 2024. Employees can request Chaplain or EAP services through the 911 Department or Human Resources." Employees answered a number of questions, including their ideal shift, how long they worked and whether they feel like a valued team member. You can see those results here: E911-Communications-Services-Engagement-Survey-2023-002Download A spokesperson with the county says they are working to find solutions to these issues, some of them already being resolved. Below is a statement addressing this. "Regarding the work environment, management is actively involved in resolving conflicts and addressing workplace issues. They work closely with 911 supervisors and Human Resources to handle conflicts as they arise. Additionally, policies have been implemented concerning employee conduct, and management collaborates with Chatham County Human Resources to provide training on workplace conduct. To address accountability, the County is strictly enforcing progressive discipline measures for warranted employee actions. To enhance communication, the management team plans to hold more frequent meetings with staff including the establishment of an E911 Employee Resource Group, providing a platform for employees to voice concerns and collaborate on solutions. In terms of training, Chatham 911 ensures that each position in the Communications Center receives specialized training, including Basic Communications Officer state certification, Priority Dispatch training, FEMA courses, and security training. The Training Manager has also developed a training plan that exceeds the 10-hour state mandated in-service training, and the 24-hour Priority Dispatch mandated training requirements. Staff members are allowed to attend additional training if staffing permits. Savannah sees 22.5% decline in homeless rates Many of the technology issues referenced in the employee survey were addressed and fixed in a preplanned technology upgrade in January of 2024. There are plans for an upgrade to the 911 telephone system, with approval targeted by the County Commission in April. The center also completed their transition to a wireless headset environment. Additionally, the following has been done or is underway to improve conditions: Recruit, hire and train additional Call Takers and Dispatchers until all positions are filled Improving communication between the 911 Department and partner agencies Addition of an Evening Shift Operations Coordinator to enhance supervision of personnel working nontraditional shifts Partnering with Human Resources to improve equity and inclusion Acknowledging staff for exemplary performance during National Public Safety Telecommunicator week Implementation of Shift Differential pay for personnel working nontraditional shifts Permanent day/night shift have implemented Implement new CAD/Emergency Dispatch Protocols  New, more comfortable chairs built for a 24-hour environment Thorough cleaning of the 911 Center twice a year by professionals who specialize in cleaning busy call centers, position by position, to include wiring New flooring, larger computer monitors, replacement of old furnishings and equipment" Regarding the frustrations with the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, a spokesperson wrote: "The survey was conducted shortly after going live with the new CAD system. As with any change of this magnitude, there would be growing pains with getting acclimated to the new system, especially for those who had used the previous CAD for many years. The “bugs” that were reported by staff were taken very seriously. The Technology Team worked tirelessly, and continues to do so, any time issues are reported to them. Most of the “bugs” were related to changes in business practices or change in how calls were created. There were technical issues that we reported during the first few weeks, however, those were resolved with comprehensive updates deployed in coordination with the CAD Vendor. The 911 center staff received almost 10,000 documented training hours prior to the CAD system launching. The 911 Training Team have continued to provide training to the Supervisors and Communications Training Officers to better help those team members on their shifts who need assistance. Known specific issues have been addressed and the county will continue to use this new life critical system as it adds a wealth of improvements over our previous system." Staffing continues to be the largest challenge in our 911 Center and is a trend seen nationally, according to a county spokesperson. Currently Chatham E911 has these vacancies: 15 Communications Officers, 1 Teletype Operator, 1 Quality Assurance Officer. All Call Taker positions have been filled and four additional Call Taker Trainees have been hired. Six recently hired Call Takers were assigned to the 911 Center this week to begin Call Taker training. Other improvements being made include: A non-emergency call center (NECC) has been created to handle the non-emergent calls that come into the E911 Center. The NECC went into operation the week of March 11, 2024, and in its first week handled just over 500 administrative calls allowing E911 call takers and dispatchers to focus on calls that needed emergency response. E911 will be breaking ground on the new state-of-the-art Multi-Agency Public Safety Center that will house a new E911 center in late May 2024 with the completion of the building coming in June 2026.