A day in the life of an American school is busy and often unpredictable. Any incident could occur at a moment’s notice, from a student injury to a weather emergency. Teachers and staff must be able to respond quickly to these incidents; when they can, the school’s safety and security are improved. The CENTEGIX® CrisisAlert™ school alert system ensures that every staff member can send an alert from anywhere on campus in any situation. CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint™ provides precise location information so administrators and first responders can quickly assist.
Schools that are equipped with the CENTEGIX Safety Platform™ are better positioned to foster a culture of safety. These schools’ staff, administrators, and community members testify to the effectiveness of CrisisAlert’s wearable emergency button technology. Read on to hear their stories.
Precise Location Information Means Quicker Response Times
When an emergency occurs inside a school, precise location information can mean the difference between an incident and a crisis. The CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint™ provides exactly the information administrators and first responders need to respond quickly to incidents of all kinds. CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint features dynamic digital mapping that provides precise information to first responders. This includes not only the locations of incidents but also assets, including AEDs, fire alarms, first aid kids, extinguishers, and evacuation points. This is the critical information first responders require to minimize delays and respond effectively.
CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint’s intelligent response mapping also enables administrators to customize school safety plans. Information can thus be easily and quickly disseminated throughout campus so that staff and students can easily and rapidly follow safety protocols. Administrators whose schools are equipped with CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint have access to detailed information that allows them to make quick and informed decisions that can help save lives.
Assistance in Behavior Incidents
Behavior management is an ongoing challenge in schools, and incidents are increasing. School staff members deserve support when incidents get out of hand. One teacher asserts that, during an altercation at their school, “I immediately pressed the button three times, and within seconds, principals and security appeared. It was the quickest response I have ever had for an incident.” The teacher adds: “The response time was a lot quicker than when we hit the “green emergency button” on the wall. Admin and security respond faster when using CrisisAlert.”
Staff members assert that a wearable emergency button is user-friendly. One teacher said, “Earlier in the year, I had a fight in my room. I couldn’t remember what extension to dial to get an admin. I also was trying to keep my other students out of it and get one of the fighters out in the hall.” When left to handle the altercation on their own, teachers can become overwhelmed; this makes it difficult to perform a multi-step process to request help. However, the teacher stated that the CENTEGIX CrisisAlert™ school alert system “makes it so much easier and quicker than trying to get to a phone. It makes it a lot easier to keep the other students safe as well!”
Walkie-talkies are a standard tool for use in behavioral incidents. However, teachers point out that this technology can often be unreliable. One teacher says that when their students got into physical conflict, they would use their walkie-talkie and “hope it was charged and hope the people on the other end had theirs. If [I received] no response, then I needed to call someone. It could take up to 15 minutes to get assistance.” The school’s existing technology did not enable this teacher to get immediate help. Now that their school has CENTEGIX CrisisAlert™, this teacher says, “I tell everyone I love that every staff person has the ability to get help or lock down the school if necessary.” This is a testament to how CENTEGIX CrisisAlert™ helps create a culture of safety in schools.
Instant Notification of Medical Incidents
When potentially life-threatening medical events occur on school property, CrisisAlert™ enables quick responses from first responders. In bustling school environments, medical emergencies are inevitable. Many of these incidents require immediate intervention. Staff members equipped with a CENTEGIX wearable emergency button can instantly request help for themselves, students, other staff members, or visitors. By ensuring that critical responders can immediately locate these incidents, CENTEGIX technology shortens response times, and shorter response times save lives.
One teacher described an incident: “A child was having a seizure and turning blue. We needed immediate medical help and [the CENTEGIX wearable emergency button] meant that I was able to immediately contact admin and they came and helped.” This teacher went on to say: “It is quick, easy, and convenient. In a medical emergency, every second matters, and I had that badge on my person and was able to immediately get a response.”
Another teacher described an incident where a student fell in the cafeteria: “He was unable to move and the teacher near him asked me to get support from the office. I pressed the button on my badge three times, and in les than a minute, all three principals, the nurse (with a wheelchair), and one office staff member were in the cafeteria.” When a student had a seizure in the hallway, another teacher says they “pressed the badge for immediate assistance. I was helped in under two minutes.”
In each of these instances, CENTEGIX technology enabled staff to request help, ensured that they would receive an immediate response, and initiated assistance in an instant. Likewise, sports injuries and outdoor on-campus incidents receive an instant response.
Quick and Discreet Response to Non-Emergency Incidents
Staff members often need assistance during incidents that do not involve injury or threats to physical safety. For example, one front office staff member told a story about a student who was having an emotional episode that left them slumped in the hallway unable to move. This student “was found crying on the floor. [CrisisAlert] has been a helpful device in getting help quickly in an emergency. Working at the front office, I have seen it used time and time again, and it has been able to get help faster than a phone call.” When they use CENTEGIX school alert system technology, administrators are “able to be notified quickly and efficiently to help intervene…Thanks to CENTEGIX, the child was able to be helped in a timely manner.”
In order not to escalate or further alarm students, staff must be able to request help quickly and discreetly. One teacher describes an incident where a student fainted in their classroom: “I pressed my alert badge and had three principals in our room within two minutes. This was a lot faster than if I were to have to call the office and have them locate an administrator. It was also a lot more discreet than if I were to radio the situation.” The CENTEGIX Safety Platform enables teachers to get the help they need while minimizing disruption and distress for the affected students.
Effective Response to Visitors’ Medical Emergencies
Special events and the presence of visitors can increase the likelihood of unexpected medical incidents on campus. One staff member told the story: “I was in the lunchroom helping with Grandparents Day lunch. We had over 100 grandparents in the lunchroom, along with all of the students. A grandmother fell and…I used the CENTEGIX button, and within seconds, the school nurse, the SRO, and all of our admins arrived in the lunchroom to provide assistance. If we did not have the CENTEGIX alert button, it would have taken several minutes for me to phone all of those people and explain what happened.”
This staff member was able to respond to the medical incident without leaving the scene. Rather than introducing more chaos into the situation by running for help, help came running. The staff member added, “Thankfully, the grandmother was okay but the time saved was crucial. No matter what the situation, having that badge saves so much time. In a life or death situation, the difference between seconds and minutes could make the difference in saving a life.”
Reliable and Precise Location Information
CENTEGIX CrisisAlert™ and Safety Blueprint™ work together to provide precise and reliable location information from anywhere on campus. One staff member said this increases their sense of security: “Knowing that I can get assistance to help keep the students safe no matter what my location at the school is reassuring. I’ve used [the CENTEGIX wearable emergency button] several times to get a quick response in a situation where I needed immediate help.”
Precise location information improves response times. Says one teacher, “The response time is faster than any other option I have used in the past. In the past, the only option was to hit the call button and wait for someone in the front office to answer…The response time was very long.” CENTEGIX technology makes requesting help quick and easy and instantly initiates school safety protocols to provide necessary assistance anywhere on campus.
If you want to learn firsthand how CENTEGIX can help improve your district’s emergency response times and create a culture of safety in your schools, sign up for a demonstration today.