Bonnie Guzman, 911 dispatcher for Hancock County 911 in Hancock, Indiana, and Richard VanOsdol, Sergeant with Hancock County Police Department, recount their successful baby delivery from both sides of the call.
Melissa Colon, CTO, Lieutenant, ETC instructor, and Q with Manatee County Emergency Communications Center, and Heather Hedgcock, QA Coordinator, Captain/Supervisor, ETC Instructor, and Q, discuss customer service skills. They outline how to professionally interrupt the caller, give examples of phrases you can use to sound polite and firm, and approach calltakers who lose their patience.
Dr. Paul Bourgeois, PhD, CRC, NCC, and Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Programs at the University of New Haven, discusses his research into emergency dispatcher mental health. He talks about parallels between emergency dispatchers and counselors as well as first steps in improving the mental health climate in your agency.
Jonny McMullan, Performance Improvement Manager with the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, discusses the benefits of mentoring in emergency dispatch, including what makes a good mentor and how to best support trainees.
Carlynn Page Crampton, FirstWatch Engagement Strategist, discusses how FirstWatch can help your agency make data-driven decisions.
Danissa Alston, Montgomery County Maryland 9-1-1 Communication Center’s staff social worker, discusses how mental health and body health are connected and what you can do today to reduce your stress levels.
Ariana Kitty, Operations Manager for Northwest Central Dispatch System (NWCDS), and Robin Chamberlain, QA independent contractor with PDC, discuss the skill of active listening, including what you can do to improve it and why it’s so crucial.
Ty Wooten, the IAED’s Director of Governmental Affairs, discusses the 911 Tree of Life, a project developed to recognize remarkable 911 telecommunicators and the difference they make every day in their communities.
Stephan Bunker, an expert witness with over 50 years of public safety experience, discusses the key ways to avoid litigation and liability in emergency dispatch, including tips for individual dispatchers as well as center managers.
Erin Eaton, Operations Manager, and Jeb Lyons, Operations Manager, at Northwest Central Dispatch System (NWCDS) discuss their center’s fire specialist team, including how it started, what it’s accomplished, and how to put your own together.