National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, celebrated the second week of April and sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment and render lifesaving assistance to the world’s citizens.
The week-long recognition, started in 1981 by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office in California, is a time to celebrate and thank those who dedicate their lives to serving the public.
Though dispatchers work behind the scenes and out of the public eye, their contributions are critical to saving lives. For example, a 911 dispatcher calmly talked a Connecticut man out of suicide.
In many communities, dispatchers help callers recognize cardiac arrest and give hands-only CPR instructors. A Florida dispatcher instructed a son how to save his father’s life with CPR.
Dispatchers also find themselves giving emergency childbirth instructions over the phone or even getting hands-on with the patient, like this dispatcher that helped deliver a child in the police department’s parking lot.
Compassionate care is often given off-duty by dispatchers. A North Carolina dispatcher brought groceries to an elderly cancer patient after he called 911 to report he was hungry and unable to get to the store.
Off-duty dispatchers also use their training and experience to provide emergency care. An off-duty Pennsylvania dispatcher helped find a missing toddler and an off-duty Texas paramedic performed CPR on a person down on the side of the highway.
It’s National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week 2016! Thank a dispatcher operator with #nsptw. We have great ones here at KSU!
— KSU Emergency Mgmt. (@KSU_Safety) April 13, 2016
APD recognized Comms Spvsr Jason Helfond for creating a quicker way for officers to log in for duty via text. #nsptw pic.twitter.com/X1TuxMq4JJ
— Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) April 13, 2016