ORANGE COUNTY, NY—‘911’ DISABLED REGISTRY

Orange County Department of Mental Health

845-291-2600

Orange County, NY has developed a registry to list people with developmental disabilities to enable ‘911’ emergency responders to be more prepared when arriving at the home of a family with a special needs member.

A simple, one page form available from the county’s Department of Mental Health allows parents or caregivers to voluntarily list their special needs individual’s name, age, conditions, and other basic information on the new ‘911’ database.

Under a section entitled “Issues First Responders Need To Know”, caregivers can check off conditions and behaviors such as ‘Mental retardation’, ‘medically fragile’, ‘non verbal’, or ‘may become aggressive to self or others’.

This will allow 911 dispatchers to inform EMT’s, firefighters, police or any other emergency workers what to expect when arriving at a call in their home.  They will enable them to respond more appropriately.

Registration forms are available from the Orange County Department of Mental Health’s Developmental Disabilities Division.   Information must be updated annually.