MOUNT VERNON — “It takes just the right kind of person to be a dispatcher,” said 9-1-1 dispatcher Lisa Hart.
The high levels of stress dispatchers face day in and day out while dealing with matters of life and death, and the constant multitasking required of these professionals, make selecting the right candidates for the job quite a task.
EMA Director Marie Blubaugh, Knox County Sheriff Capt. Richard Brenneman and Mount Vernon Police Capt. George Hartz interview prospective candidates, and hire people they feel will be able to handle the demanding job.
“We all see different things in different people,” said Blubaugh. “This job is not for everyone. One of the basic requirements for a dispatcher is the ability to multitask. They have to have a calm demeanor, and be able to get along with co-workers.”
Prospective dispatchers must also pass a background check. Once hired, the dispatchers are sent to Ohio Peace Officer Dispatcher training, a 40-hour course. They then receive six months of on-the-job training.
The final step in the dispatchers’ training is emergency medical dispatcher training. Blubaugh said that typically, an instructor is brought in for the EMD training, which teaches dispatchers how to talk callers through medical emergencies until EMS personnel arrive on scene.
EMD training covers how to handle everything from choking, rescue breathing, control of bleeding and cardiac emergencies, to delivering a baby. A flip chart with step-by-step instructions is available to dispatchers, keeping emergency medical information at their fingertips in a moment’s notice. Over 30 medical emergencies are covered in the flip chart, as well as in a software program that is also available to dispatchers at all times.
Thirteen-year veteran dispatcher Laura Webster, who works at the county dispatch center at the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, said the step-by-step questions prompted by the software give her confidence when she is helping a caller with a medical emergency. The EMD system gives dispatchers questions to ask, and an exact protocol to follow.
Dispatchers remain on probation for a full year, while they learn the ropes and work with more experienced dispatchers.
Sheriff David Barber said that finding a qualified pool of candidates to fill vacancies at the dispatch centers has been a challenge. Two positions are being recruited. Barber and Blubaugh said they feel the work ethic in society is not what it was years ago, and this has affected how many qualified candidates apply for dispatch positions.
“In today’s society, it is very difficult to find young people with a really strong work ethic,” said Blubaugh.
Job stress is one reason that, once hired, some dispatchers find the job is not for them.
“The people are top notch and they are well trained, but they are human beings,” Barber said.
“Turnover is high among dispatchers everywhere,” Blubaugh said. “Stress is just one of the issues that causes high turnover.”
Blubaugh said that last year, city dispatchers worked a lot of overtime because a number of dispatchers were replaced, or moved on to other careers. Two were also out on sick leave.
Hart said the most difficult thing about her job is the high stress level, and being able to stay calm in the stressful situations that require her to make important judgment calls, very quickly.
Webster, who, when interviewed, was working with fellow county dispatcher Lisa Smith, an 18-year veteran, said that among the thousands of calls she has answered throughout her career, there are some calls she will always remember.
“The calls involving kids are the ones that stand out,” Webster, who is also a mother, said.
Smith said calls involving children and the elderly stay with her. Blubaugh said dispatchers have to be ready to take calls from anyone, including friends and family. An emergency involving someone a dispatcher knows can test a dispatcher’s calm.
The first responders who work with dispatchers on a regular basis understand the stress the job entails.
“Part of their job is to paint as clear of a picture as they can that helps us prepare for what we’re going to,” explained Fredericktown EMS Chief Rick Lanuzza, who also works as a firefighter/paramedic with the Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District. He is also president of the Knox County Fire Chief Association.
“Their job is to receive and relay critical information that is pertinent. They are basically our eyes and ears before we get there,” Lanuzza said.
He added that he believes the high rate of turnover also leads to more job stress for the dispatchers, because, added to their already difficult jobs, the more experienced dispatchers often are working with a trainee as part of their shift.
“It’s easier when you have three people working together with lots of experience,” Lanuzza said. “There is already stress in the day-to-day operations, but when you throw a trainee or a less experienced dispatcher into the mix, it can increase.”
High turnover can mean more overtime. Overtime means more stress, which can lead to more turnover.
Blubaugh said the dispatchers who have made it through the strenuous training and probationary period are great at what they do. In a workplace with ever increasing technology, Blubaugh said that while dispatchers of today have much more training than in years past, they will also need to have additional training in the future, as technology develops.
When dispatchers take the initiative to find more training they are interested in, Blubaugh said she tries to make that happen.
“Sometimes they will read about something, or see it on the Internet, or on the LEADs system, and they would really like to follow up on it,” she said.
Dispatching is a career choice, not just a job, to those in the emergency field. Knowing the unique qualities dispatchers must have, and the amount of stress they must handle, those in the field agree the job is not for most people. Mount Vernon Fire Chief Shawn Christy believes the dispatchers he works with are as critical to the process as other emergency responders.
“Every dispatcher that I have met, they have been the utmost professional. They are extremely dedicated,” he said.
“I think the public might not realize all that we do,” said Webster.
Both Webster and Smith said they enjoy their careers, and the challenges each shift brings.
“It keeps it interesting,” said Webster. “After 13 years, I can still say I like what I do.”
