Residence Requirements:

THIS EXAMINATION IS OPEN TO ALL QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES OF THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. This list will be used to fill one vacancy. 

The eligible list resulting from this examination will not supersede currently existing promotional eligible lists for this title, if any. The duration of all promotional eligible lists is four years from date of establishment unless otherwise indicated.

Examples of Duties:

A Senior MERS Coordinator supervises and operates the communications and related equipment and the maintenance of records for a Medical Emergency Radio System.

Provides supervision, training, evaluation and scheduling for MERS Coordinators;

Supervises operations and operates MERS radio to assist with ambulance and hospital communication, notify ambulances of accidents or disaster and alert hospitals to incoming patients;

Answers telephones, pages Department of Emergency Services, relays information to hospitals not on MERS;

Requests assistance from police and fire agencies, and provides assistance to emergency units during disasters;

Dispatches ambulances in the City of Buffalo as part of the County 9-1-1 System;

Provides after hours call intake and processing for the Erie County Health Department and Erie County Department of Emergency Services;

Provides communications, telephone and administrative support during disaster situations;

Interrogates citizens calling for ambulance service to determine their need for such service, location, nature of emergency and provides post-dispatch and pre-arrival instructions;

Responds in emergencies to supervise and coordinate Communication Center activities;

Schedules Communication Center personnel to maintain 24 hour a day coverage;

Ensures an adequate program of in-service training for all Communication Center Personnel;

Maintains hospital emergency department status reports;

Serves on a number of local committees such as Buffalo EMS Board, 911 Steering Committee, ENA (Emergency Nurses Association), etc.;

Conducts training courses on communications in proper usage of MERS radio for all EMT courses, volunteer fire ambulance companies, rescue squads, commercial ambulances and hospital emergency department personnel;

Maintains files and records; completes reports; prepares payroll materials;

May represent the MERS program by public speaking, community presentations and other public relations activities.

Qualifications:

QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE FOR TAKING THE TEST: Candidates must be permanently employed in the competitive class and must be serving and have served continuously on a permanent or contingent permanent basis in the competitive class for 12 months immediately preceding the date of the written test as a MERS Coordinator and in addition must meet the following:

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
1. Current certification as an Emergency Medical Technician (E.M.T.)
2. Certification as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher (E.M.D.) from the National Academy of E.M.D. at time of appointment and maintenance of E.M.D. certification throughout employment.

Notes:

NONE

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas: 

1. Coding/decoding information

These questions test for the ability to follow a set of coding rules. Some questions will require you to code information by converting certain information into letters or numbers. Other questions will require you to decode information by determining if the information that has already been converted into letters or numbers is correct. Complete directions will be provided; no previous knowledge of or training in any coding system is required.

2. Retaining and comprehending spoken information from calls for emergency services

These questions test for your ability to retain specific information that is heard in calls for emergency service, such as a street address, or to comprehend spoken information from emergency service calls, such as determining the location of a site in relation to landmarks. Simulated 911 calls will be played on audio CD. Immediately following each call, candidates are given audio instructions identifying which questions they are to answer within the test booklet. The questions that candidates are directed to answer for each simulated call will not be in sequential order. Candidates will need to retain and comprehend the information and instruction provided in this portion of the test to respond appropriately to the questions asked and to determine which questions to answer. The time allotted to answer these questions will be limited. At the end of each answer period, the CD will automatically play the next call. Note paper will be provided. Candidates will be permitted to take notes and to refer to them when answering the questions.

3. Office record keeping

These questions test your ability to perform common office record keeping tasks. The test consists of two or more "sets" of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of data from several sources; scheduling; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages and percents. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.

4. Radio operations and dispatching procedures

These questions test for knowledge of two-way radio systems and operations, and may cover dispatching procedures when appropriate.

5. Supervision and training

These questions test for the knowledge required by a supervisor to set goals, plan and organize work, train workers in how to do their jobs, and direct workers towards meeting established goals. The supervisory questions cover such areas as assigning and reviewing work, evaluating performance, maintaining work quality, motivating employees, increasing efficiency, and dealing with problems that may arise on the job. The training questions cover such areas as determining the necessity for training, selecting appropriate training methods, and evaluating the effectiveness of training.

6. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.  

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

INFORMATION FOR PROMOTION CANDIDATES

Unless otherwise indicated, the eligible list resulting from this examination will have a duration of four years and will not supersede existing promotional lists, if any.

RATINGS REQUIRED: Test is rated on a scale of 100 with a passing mark at 70. Test instructions may further divide the tests into parts and set minimum standards for each part.
Points will be added to scores of candidates who achieve a passing mark as follows: Seniority: For each year of service in the classified service:

Less than 1 year……………………..................…0 points
1 year up to 6 years…………….…........................1 point
Over 6 years up to 11 years.....………......….........2 points
Over 11 years up to 16 years….…........….........…3 points
Over 16 years up to 21 years………..................…4 points
Over 21 years………………………..................…5 points

VETERANS: Disabled and non-disabled veterans as defined in Section 85, New York State Civil Service Law, will have 5 and 2.5 points, respectively added to their earned scores if successful in the examination. You must claim these credits when you file application but you have an option to waive them any time prior to appointment. If you have already used these credits for a permanent position in NYS, you may not claim them again.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.