Dauphin County 9-1-1 Dispatchers Honored for Helping Callers Deliver Babies, Save Lives with CPR
Several Dauphin County telecommunicators were recently recognized for excellent public service, assisting panicked 9-1-1 callers in delivering babies and saving lives.
“Our dispatchers are the compassionate, calming forces on the other end of the line,” Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries said.
The Dauphin County Board of Commissioners also provided Public Safety Director Stephen Libhart with a proclamation for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The proclamation emphasized how dispatchers received nearly 900 9-1-1 calls per day in 2020, which resulted in 290,103 emergency dispatches for police, fire and EMS services.
“9-1-1 operators are really the backbone or our community, and they are unseen,” County Commissioner Chair Jeff Haste said. “They are the fiber of our community.”
Individual awards were given for assistance with delivering a baby (Stork Pins), providing CPR and other instructions that preserved a life (Livesaver Awards), and special recognition honors for other extraordinary actions.
“We know the pride and effort you put into making sure you are the best at your jobs,” County Commissioner George P. Hartwick III said at the awards ceremony.
Raven Motes, Justin Henning, and Kaylyn Sweitzer each received Stork Pins. Motes also received a special recognition.
Henning recalled instructing a man to assist his daughter, who was in labor. The man was initially hesitant, but then was thankful to have been the first person to lay hands on his grandchild.
Katherine Phillips, Craig Powers, Kaitlin Regan, and Henning received Lifesaver Awards. (Phillips and Powers received two).
Regan explained how he had to convince a female caller that she could help her father who was not breathing and turning purple. Regan instructed the caller on CPR and the man survived.
DPS Director Libhart said his team performed incredibly last year, navigating a myriad of challenges presented by COVID -19.
Libhart said many of his staff spend their entire careers as telecommunicators, and about 72 percent of current staff were formerly first responders (EMS, fire, etc.).
Also receiving awards, but not present at the ceremony:
Brandon Freistat: Recognition Award
William Givler: Recognition Award
Nathan Kenyon: Lifesaver Award, Stork Pin Award, and Recognition Award
Mickayla Miller: 2 Lifesaver Awards, Stork Pin Award
Steven Bloss: Lifesaver Award
Daniel Mader: 2 Lifesaver Awards
Christopher Trace: 3 Lifesaver Awards
Allison Emerick: Lifesaver Award
Jennifer Barrett: Lifesaver Award
Andrew Mellott: Lifesaver Award
Daniel Crum: Stork Pin Award
Dylan Vandernick: Stork Pin Award
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett Hambright, Press Secretary, 717-780-6311; bhambright@dauphinc.org.