Who ya gonna call? Marion County 9-1-1

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CYNTHIA MARTENS
Marion County will join the nation this week to honor area 9-1-1 dispatchers-communications operators who are the life line between people in an emergency and those who respond to help them.

Since the early 1990s, the second full week in April has been designated by Congress as National Public-Safety Telecommunications Week, which falls on April 14 through 20 this year.

“We would like to honor everyone, not just one individual, because everyone here does an equal job and handles all responsibilities,” said Michele Abbot-Becker, communications and emergency management director in Marion County.

Working rotating eight-hour shifts 24-hours-a-day, the following are on staff at Marion County Communications and Emergency Management: director Becker; communication foreman Marvena Cheever; dispatchers Kenneth Newell, Linda Kenney, Sandra Mille, Loretta Klose; and dispatcher-in-training Mary Harrison.

Located in the same building that houses the sheriff’s office, specially trained dispatchers handle all 9-1-1 and administrative calls for law enforcement in Marion County.

During the first three months of this year, communications operators have received or made 12,621 calls.

In a secure room, dispatchers sit in front of a large console, two phones, a computer, and monitoring and camera systems as they collate and communicate emergency information.

“When I started in 1989, there were just phones and radios sitting all over the tables,” Becker said.

“So that’s when we went centralized-everybody having radios versus trying to call everybody on the phone. And now we’re all on one centralized console and radio.”

Dispatchers in Marion are responsible for emergency calls coming from 13 cities and about seven unincorporated communities within the county. They also help with jail duties such as routine jail-cell checks and dispensing medication.

Dispatcher recruitment is by word of mouth or using media advertising. Harrison, the newest dispatcher-in-training, has eight years of experience as a legal secretary in county government, which Becker said is a good background for the job.

“We look for someone who’s calm, handles stress well and has clear, concise verbal abilities,” she said.

Training involves on-site experience beside a seasoned dispatcher for a minimum of 350 to 400 hours-about 2 1/2 months-before being allowed to work a solo shift.

“We have a testing process where they’re tested weekly over geographics, codes and different resource material that we may not have to memorize but (must) know how to access,” Becker said.

A 9-1-1 dispatcher in Marion is responsible for handling the following four types of calls:

EMS-involves any type of medical emergency such as a request for an ambulance at a vehicle accident or complaints of shortness of breath;

Law enforcement-includes responding to such situations as domestic-violence calls, fire investigation and car accidents;

Fire-entails dispatching the correct responders to house fires, grass fires, controlled burns and car fires;

Public service-helps disseminate information about such hazards as a malfunctioning railroad signal, or dangerous road and weather conditions.

Dispatchers have to make an immediate distinction between a civil and criminal liability call so they can refer it to the correct police department in their jurisdiction.

The procedure from there depends on the nature of the call, Becker said.

If the request is for an officer and one is in the office, the call is transferred.

“If it’s for an officer out in the field, we will relay as much information as needed and get him to call back or respond directly to the location,” she said.

And if it’s an emergency call, they dispatch the appropriate unit such as an ambulance, fire, first response or rescue.

“The rule of thumb is-our role is to be the disseminator,” Becker said. “We don’t hold the information, we give it out to everybody.”

Cheever agreed and said, “You ask as many questions as it takes to get a clear picture to be able to relate to the responding unit a clear picture for them.”

All calls coming into 9-1-1 are tracked for phone number and location of the caller, but that’s not the case for cell-phone calls.

“There’s a point that needs to be made that when a person calls from a cell phone, we don’t get their location and number they’re calling from,” Becker said.

But the move to be able to identify cell-phone callers in Marion County is coming in the future, she said.

Caller identification has been proposed as a two-phase implementation process. Phase one will allow dispatchers to receive phone-number information, and phase two will enable them to get location information.

But it’s being held up in legislation because the state is trying to determine “who pays for what,” Becker said.

Marion County phone users are currently paying a 75-cent surcharge per phone line every month.

“That money is used for technological changes, equipment changes and maintenance for radio communication,” Becker said.

But the Legislature will have to decide if the taxation revenue on wireless calls will go directly back to the local 9-1-1 centers or a central state agency in charge of disbursing the funds.

“We’re real concerned based on population that we may not have as much control,” she said.

Increased cellular phone use has also prompted Becker to ask county commissioners for additional staffing, which was recently approved. They authorized making a part-time dispatcher’s position full-time and hiring another part-time position.

“Our goal is to get double coverage through the afternoon and evening, and the midnight shift would be a solo dispatcher,” Becker said.

She also said she has always wanted to be able to give pre-arrival instructions to callers.

“Up until this point a dispatcher doesn’t have the ability to give those pre-arrival instructions-which is considered Emergency Medical Dispatching-because we only have one (dispatcher) on duty,” Becker said.

“There’s no way you can be giving those instructions to the caller and dispatching the unit.”

Among other concerns, on-the-job stress is a major issue, Cheevers said.

“We’re such a small department that we know each other.”

Consequently, dispatchers are sending officers and volunteers, who are friends, into dangerous situations.

“It’s the most stressful job there is,” she said.

“But in the same respect, it’s also the most rewarding job I’ve ever had because every time the phone rings somebody needs something. And I’m helping them get that.”

Cheever said the most heart rendering part of her job is dealing with fatality accidents.

“You’re heart goes out to the officer and the family.”

But she said she also remembers the rewarding moments in her career, especially the time she helped a couple deliver a baby about seven years ago.

The family was caught stranded at home in a snow storm, and they called 9-1-1 requesting an ambulance to get them to the hospital to deliver their fourth child.

But the baby boy came into the world before the ambulance arrived. Meanwhile, Cheever stayed on the phone coaching the couple.

“I just made sure the dad cleared the airway and kept the mom and baby warm,” she said.

“That was the most heartwarming.”

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