X-Dispatcher

HI I worked in 911 for 16 years. 12 at the Sheriff's office in Gillette, Wy. Started out dispatching fire, EMS, and law for 2 years and was promoted to supervisor. Then got a job as Director of consolidated center in WA. and now I am "retired".... Getting fat being a dispatcher is sure not hard... between the boredom and the chaos.... what else are you supposed to do but eat- (take a walk or take a break... yeah right) I had RNY June 20th 2002 and 2nd emergency surgery 4 days later. Have lost 132 pounds and am @ goal. I have my story along with a lot of research information on my profile page. Sharon Reach for the Stars http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=N1017180811&NoStatic=1

Hey there! Sure are glad that you came in to join us!! How right you are. It is easy to pack on the lbs as you sit there listening to responders & the public. I'm sure that you and the rest of us have (had) that uncanny trait of being able to stuff your mouth full of food and then speak in a clear voice! Is that some trick to learn or what! I have honestly dispatched one of our worst armed robberies with a mouth full of lasagana. I have 17 years in & am the director now. I love what I do! Love it so much that I am working toward my Paramedic now. God Willing! Class ends in July!!!!! Great to hear from ya. Would love to hear some war stories too!

Pamela, You started about when I did - this year would of been my 17th year.... and, yeah- I've eaten during some crazy calls- sometimes just because I was starving or because I was so TENSE! Good luck on your Paramedic license. I used to live in Greenville, NC (small world, huh) Where are you in relation to Greenville. How big is your center? HOw long have you been Director? I would probably still be doing it, but ran into some "political" problems with 2 EMS agencies fighting over patients.... (and I pissed off the wrong fire chief) It's all over money, which made me so mad, cause for me it was how it affected : #1 the public, #2 my dispatchers anyway - long story I was getting very stressed out, though (because of always being in the middle of the conflicts) and it was probably the best thing that ever happened. It gave me the push to do something that I really love now, I am writing a WLS book (hope to have it out this fall) and I spend fulltime helping members on their journey. Sharon

I am about 45 minutes NE of Greenville. My fiance works for Pitt Memorial Hospital on their MICU trucks. Our center handles about 35,000 calls per year, Fire, EMS and LEO. I have 10 full time staff members. The area is very large, but rural and poor. The people here are good folks, hard workers, and doing all that they can to get along and make a living farming. Congratulations on your book!!! I wish you the very very best with it!

How odd! I thought I responded to this and then realized that I was at work reading and got busy and didn't get to respond! I was reading your story as much of it as I could while working. You have a really nice profile - well laid out. I think either I've talked to you before or I have read your profile before. I've been in this since 87 myself, so it looks like a lot of 17 year folks here, except I had close to 2 years off between my 2 dispatch jobs. Been at this one for over 12 years now. So Sharon - I think either I already asked you this a long time ago or read it but would you mind telling your story again? I recall something about you having some sort of situation at your new job that was negative, but I can't remember what it was!!! (Imagine that...a negative work environment in a dispatch center! Yikes!) Dina

Dina, OH, man - you wouldn't believe that center when I got there. It was in chaos - they'd had no discipline for 3 years... 1/2 of the people came in late most of the time.... they would sit talking on the phone with a friend while a 911 line was ringing... it took them 4 minutes to get an EMS or fire page out (4 minutes from the time that they had ALL the information, what-when-where... that was because the old director had never dispatched and he screwed up the computer system and it took them that long to enter all the information in order to get a page out)... they would read porn at work---OUT LOUD.... one gal showed her bare breasts to a male co-worker ....when another dispatcher ratted on her for the breast incident SHE was the one that got fired, not the hootchy momma... she had given an officer a... ummm... "Bill Clinton" in Safeway parking lot when she was on a ride-along... The first week I was there another officer got fired for having an affair with her (while on duty)-- not the one that got the BJ in the parking lot (oh, and she was engaged to a 3rd officer) and I had the guys wife in my office... oh gesh... and my hootchy momma came into me crying that "everyone thinks I'm a ****" and with a totally straight face I said, "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, IT'S A DUCK!" (needless to say, I fired her a week later for not answering 911 calls while she was on the phone with her bank) And within about 2 years, I had it all turned around. Sick rate was down. People were happy (as happy as they can be). The computer system was fixed and the dispatch times went from 4 minutes to and average of 15-30 seconds.... I basically got in the middle of a political situation - 2 fire departments fighting over EMS patients.... I pissed off the wrong fire chief and he made it his job to get on the Board and get enough buddies on the Board so that he could fire me. That was a year ago. After months of feeling devastated, I decided to write a WLS book - I am planning that it will be out in the fall. Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know Sharon

Sharon - What a Peyton Place that was! I don't doubt for a minute what you say about the place though because I've seen a lot of stuff myself in the past. Our center is nothing like that really, but I've seen some people act out in those ways - I think it's inevitable sometimes. You will have people who seek out the job because they are cop groupies, and you will have cops that seek out their job because of their ego. Yeesh! Dina