Emergency Medical Dispatcher

In the early days of 9-1-1, dispatchers were on their own without a protocol system to accurately and consistently dispatch needed support or assign the necessary resources to the variety of calls coming in to their centers. There were no key questions to narrow and focus calls or pre-arrival instructions such as CPR to help the caller until the needed help arrived. For the most part, dispatchers told callers that help was on its way and after that, the dispatcher would disconnect the line to move on to the next caller. The quick and often hasty response ultimately wasted time and resources. Without sufficient information about the situation, the agency risked sending the wrong emergency vehicles and the caller was left without the benefit of further, life-saving instructions while waiting for whatever was sent to help. The response system was lacking at its most critical period, and call centers throughout the country were providing varied levels of care to a public in crisis. Response teams were stretched to the limits, responding to simple problems while across the city someone was in need of critical care. Something had to be done.