Pa. emergency dispatcher wins statewide honor

August 15, 2009 06:11 AM

By Kathleen Brady Shea
The Philadelphia Inquirer

CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. — The 911 calls come in rapid succession: A homeowner is choking, a trash collector is reacting adversely to bee stings, and a woman on oxygen has stopped breathing.

During less than 10 minutes, Brenda Storti, a dispatcher with the Chester County Department of Emergency Services, receives the information from call-takers at the 911 center, calmly and clearly relaying the particulars to waiting ambulance crews while inputting data into the computer.

Minutes later, medical personnel are on the scene, and Storti, monitoring five computer screens, is updating the information while juggling new calls.

Being a model of multitasking efficiency is a given these days at many workplaces, let alone for 911 employees. But that’s not the only reason that Storti, 46, is receiving statewide recognition today from the Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council as “Dispatcher of the Year.”

John Haynes, Chester County’s deputy director of 911 operations, called Storti, who was hired in 1985, a “well-rounded telecommunicator,” trainer, and mentor who can work any position at the center, and who excels at answering questions before they’re asked.

“She’s a great example of someone who asks ‘what if’ and then plans for it,” Haynes said.

Donald Potter, the council’s EMS system specialist, said Storti’s longevity and versatility helped her win the award. He said the council, an advisory board to the state on EMS issues, solicits nominations from the state’s 67 counties as well as ambulance and helicopter companies that have their own dispatch centers.

In Chester County’s 911 center — a cavernous room illuminated by computer screens in the basement of the county’s government services building - Storti likens herself to one of the “mushrooms.”

If she is updating the medical cards that her colleagues use to talk callers through CPR or childbirth, it’s because she “likes medical things” and wants to keep busy during down time.

Learning other jobs and conducting training sessions is also diversionary, allowing her “to move around the room,” she said.

Storti lives in East Bradford Township with her husband, Tony — a West Goshen police sergeant — three dogs, and two cats.

She said she never set out to pursue a career as a dispatcher: It evolved from days of hanging out with the Uwchlan ambulance squad when she was a student in the Downingtown Area School District.

“People who made a difference in your life make you who you are,” Storti said, adding that her mentors motivated her to help others.

Sometimes, the outcomes of calls, which average 300,000 a year, are tragic.

“A person’s loved one has passed away, but by staying on the phone with them, you help them through a difficult situation,” she said. “Compassion is what we’re here for.”

One memorable and rewarding call involved a woman whose husband was choking on a piece of shrimp.

“We could hear her saying, ‘Honey, don’t leave me; I love you,’ ” Storti recalled as the worker she was training instructed the wife on the Heimlich maneuver. “She sent us a thank-you card and a valentine that said, ‘I had one more year with my valentine because of your help.’ ”

Haynes, who praised Storti’s compassion and humor, said her 24 years of service are unusual in a field in which stress often prompts turnover.

“When you have someone screaming and you have to load information and calm them down at the same time, it can be hard,” Storti said. “People often think they can do the job — until they get here and try it.”

Haynes said the center’s approximately 80 employees, who work in platoons of 20, begin as call-takers, responsible for one console. The next level, which typically requires at least a year of experience, is dispatcher, which necessitates another console, and the third level, which Storti has achieved, involves supervisory duties, Haynes said.

No day is typical, and workers need to shift gears rapidly, he said.

“You need to be able to go from periods when the phone is quiet to helping someone in cardiac arrest,” Haynes said.

He said when workers are sitting idle, it’s a good day.

“That means no one is in trouble,” he explained.

It’s also a safe bet that it’s a day when Storti is looking for something to do.