Richmond County has switched to the Regroup mass notification system, and EMS Chief Mitch Paulette appears confident it was a wise move.

From severe weather and road closures to emergencies and community alerts, the system allows the county to provide immediate, real-time notifications to the public.

“We’re committed to keeping our community safe and informed,” said Paulette. “This system gives us the tools to share critical information instantly, so everyone can take the right steps to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Previously, the county used Code Red, but Paulette said the company has been sold several times and the price kept increasing for the same service. Regroup offers more for a fraction of the cost. Paulette said the county can essentially get a six-year contract with Regroup for what a single year would have cost in the past.

Beyond cost, Paulette is very pleased with Regroup’s layout, format, ease of use, and additional functionality.

Before the transition, aside from English, the only language Code Red offered was Spanish. Now, users can select from dozens of languages. Users can also receive messages through a variety of methods — phone call, text, and email.

Another functionality Paulette found appealing is that users have the option to receive emergency notifications, such as alerts from police, fire, and EMS, as well as non-emergency notifications, which could include reminders about tax due dates, hazardous waste collection events, or any communication the county wants to share.

Paulette said it’s good for people to have the choice to select the types of messages they receive because when there’s no option and non-emergency messages are sent, there’s the risk of users becoming desensitized.

The ease of signing up has been a game changer, and it’s one of the most common points of feedback, Paulette said.

In the past, at events, EMS crewmembers would have new users fill out forms, and their details were later entered manually to set up accounts. Afterward, EMS didn’t have access to help users with account issues, such as lost passwords. If a user wanted to do something simple, like change a phone number, a service ticket had to be submitted, and it could take months, Paulette explained.

Now, new users can sign up by link, text, QR code, or by downloading the Regroup app and selecting their area. With the app, users can also sign up to get alerts in other localities when they travel if those areas are on the Regroup system, and visitors can receive Richmond County alerts.

That ease is translating into much faster uptake. Richmond County had used Code Red for more than 10 years, Paulette said, and when the transition was made, they had about 2,000 users. In about the first month of Regroup, 290 users signed up — a number the chief was extremely pleased with.

He’s also optimistic that, given the variety of sign-up options, the county will continue to see strong adoption. When Paulette went to the Warsaw Town Council meeting with flyers, he said several people were able to sign up in seconds. Now, he can include those same flyers in tax bills, for example.

Paulette said that ahead of the transition, other companies were considered, but there were a number of caveats. One company required using its web provider, while others required different add-ons. Regroup was straightforward and offers a customer service representative who can be contacted directly by email instead of submitting service tickets.

Paulette said Regroup provided Richmond County EMS with six months of free access to the platform to design and build out their system as they wanted. The company is also allowing the county a test run with a one-year contract.

“Regroup has just been an all around good company to work with,” said Paulette. And if they continue as they’ve started, this is likely to be the county’s mass notification service provider for the foreseeable future.

To sign up for the free service, users can visit the Richmond County homepage at https:// co.richmond.va.us/ and click the Regroup icon below Facebook.