Driving For Distinction

Originally founded as the capital “Tenochtitlan” by the Aztecs in 1325, Mexico City (CDMX) is one of the oldest cities in the Western Hemisphere and a celebrated center for history, culture, and business.¹

In fact, CDMX has made its mark as one of the largest financial centers on the continent and the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world. As the seventh most populated city on the globe, CDMX houses nearly 10 million city residents and an estimated 21.2 million people in the larger metropolitan area.²

From an architectural viewpoint, the city itself is a varied palette of colonial-era buildings, art deco, mid-century modern buildings, and contemporary skyscrapers. Between the months of March and April, the jacaranda trees paint the city purple with their beautiful blossoms.³ But the vivacity of the cityscape has more to do with a variety of unique features, such as the Catholic Temple Basilica of Guadalupe, which attracts 10 million visitors each year.⁴

Nicknamed the “City of Palaces,” Mexico City contains the only castle in the entire American content.⁵ Atop a hill, the Chapultepec Castle has served several distinct purposes as a military academy, imperial residence, presidential residence, observatory, and now the National Museum of History. Also, located about an hour outside of Mexico City, Teotihuacan is home to ancient ruins, artifacts, and the largest pyramids in the world.⁶

But no highlights of Mexico City would be complete without a nod to their passion for soccer (fútbol). Mexico City’s main professional soccer teams are Club América, Pumas UNAM (Club Universidad Nacional), and Cruz Azul. Mexico City has hosted the World Cup in 1970, again in 1986, and plans to host along with the USA and Canada in 2026.⁷ They were also the first Latin American country to host the Olympics in 1968.

Motivation and recognition
Aligning with their distinguished culture, it’s no wonder that Mexico City’s emergency services would strive for world recognition as an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE). The OnStar-General Motors Mexico call center implemented the Medical Priority Dispatch System^™ (MPDS^®) in November 2023 and was already recognized by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch^® (IAED^™) as the world’s 357th Medical ACE in July 2025.

Noé Rosillo, OnStar-General Motors Mexico EMD and Outreach Lead, supported his team from implementation to accreditation. Prior to adopting the MPDS, their center could not provide their clients with medical support while awaiting emergency responders to arrive on scene. As their OnStar agents became certified EMDs, they saw the value their services provided to their customers, adding to their professional purpose. This fueled an eager passion to join their OnStar partners in Canada and the USA with achieving ACE status.

“We’re motivated to be pioneers in Mexico and Latin America to achieve this recognition,” Rosillo said. “Accreditation gives us global visibility, which can surely motivate other nearby regions to use the IAED protocols and help people better while addressing emergency situations.”

Another inspiration for Rosillo was the opportunity to attend the IAED’s NAVIGATOR conference in 2024. Seeing centers recognized as ACE achievers on stage etched a memory that became a personal vision for Rosillo. “You could see their pride,” he said. He knew that next year he had to be on that stage representing his center.

That vision is now a reality as OnStar-General Motors Mexico now holds the title as the first agency in Mexico to achieve ACE status, an elite feat their managers, QA, training and planning teams, director, and 50 of their Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) own collectively.

Inside OnStar-General Motors Mexico
In comparison to other comm. centers, it might seem remarkable that a single agency could service an entire country (Mexico having 1,964,375 square km or 758449 square miles) while handling around 700 EMD calls annually. Ninety percent of OnStar-General Motors Mexico’s call volume is handled on Protocol 29: Traffic/Transportation Incidents, and the remaining calls deal with falls, assault (fights), and breathing problems.

Measuring impact looks a bit different for such a specialized emergency response team. OnStar became available through General Motors in Mexico about 12 years ago as the leading brand in connectivity and customer assistance technology in the Mexican automotive market. In 2025, there were close to 300,000 connected vehicles in the country with the platform available in 80% of the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac product lines.⁸

During these 12 years of operations in Mexico, OnStar had assisted in more than 55,000 emergency cases and dispatched around 6,000 ambulances. With the added benefit of assistance in the recovery of stolen vehicles, OnStar has become an ally to police authorities with a record of vehicle recovery within six minutes.

Of all the factors that make their center unique, Rosillo said their EMD team’s commitment is what distinguishes them. “To be an EMD in Mexico, it can take around six months of hard-earned training before they are certified,” he said. “When they take their first live calls, we can see their efforts coming together. You can see the influences that have guided them, and the way each team is represented in the service provided to the caller.”

Overcoming challenges
Even with a highly motivated team, accreditation was an impressive goal for the OnStar-General Motors center. “Our biggest obstacle was a needed cultural shift with the EMD staff to help them trust themselves and understand that they didn’t need a medical background to assist the implementation of emergency medical protocols," Rosillo said.

Of course, achieving the IAED’s required compliance levels consistently for three consecutive months was another challenge. The team worked on their opportunity areas with the goal of improving them. Finally, they overcame those areas with commitment, training, and repeated scenario practice.

Small goals led to big rewards. “We relied on the collaboration, recommendations, and encouragement we received from Priority Dispatch^® and our partners in the USA and Canada,” Rosillo said. “We also benefited from the support of our Medical Director Daniel Sánchez who had a hands-on approach to find better ways to teach our EMDs protocols.”

The EMD team kept their eye on the prize with constant communication, reviewing weekly results with all teams, and identifying opportunities during call review. They also administered monthly exams to reinforce EMDs’ knowledge of common medical emergencies and provided personalized feedback.

Conclusion
Rosillo prioritizes recognizing outstanding performance as a key to their success, so celebrating the announcement of their center’s accreditation was a natural desire to give credit where it was due.

On Nov. 18, 2025, OnStar-General Motors Mexico held a plaque unveiling ceremony with the entire team, complete with celebratory food. Their OnStar Director Yammil Guaida recognized their achievement with hearty congratulations for their united efforts.

With ACE in their rearview mirror, Rosillo reflects on how it happened through the hurdles. “It doesn't matter if each EMD call represents a challenge, you can still achieve accreditation by applying the Protocols correctly,” Rosillo said.

“You must be patient through the learning curve. Take the time to work together and keep the team motivated. Finally, helping others—even saving lives—is such a great honor.”

Sources
1. “10 Reasons to Visit Mexico City: The Beautiful and Bustling Capital.” The Wandering Smiley's. 2025. https://wanderingsmileys.com/reasons-to-visit-mexico-city/ (accessed Dec. 2, 2025).

2. “Mexico City.” World Population Review. 2025. https://worldpopulationreview.com/cities/mexico/mexico-city (accessed Dec. 2, 2025).

3. “32 Fun & Interesting Facts About Mexico City—Local Historian’s Guide.” Dominican Abroad. 2024; Jan. 6. https://www.dominicanabroad.com/interesting-facts-about-mexico-city/ (accessed Dec. 2, 2025).

4. See note 3.

5. See note 3.

6. See note 3.

7. See note 3.

8. Centeno, D. “OnStar Celebrates 10 Years Of Operations In Mexico.” Motrolix. 2023; Sept. 29. https://gmauthority.com/blog/2023/09/onstar-celebrates-10-years-of-operations-in-mexico/ (accessed Dec. 2, 2025).