BRAZOS COUNTY, Tx — From car crashes to medical emergencies and everything in between, 9-1-1 dispatchers are the first ones to take the call when something tragic happens.
“9-1-1 what is the address of the emergency?”
Every second counts when it comes to making a call to 9-1-1…and emergency dispatchers like Samantha Seber with the Brazos County 9-1-1 District are the first ones to respond when the phone rings.
“Every call you take is going to be new, you’ll never take the same call twice.” Said Seber.
For the past 8 years, Seber has been a trainer, getting new dispatchers will experience on the job.
“I think a lot of the issues we have as telecommunicators answering these calls is we get the first part of the call; we get the initial reaction from the callers, but we don’t get the end result. It’s like reading a book and getting the last 2 chapters taken out we don’t get to hear what happens in the end.” Explained Seber.
While the job presents its challenges, lawmakers in the Lone Star State are making sure this profession doesn’t go unnoticed. House Bill 1486 will grant 9-1-1 dispatchers Mental Health Leave in Texas.
For almost 18 years Maria Garcia has overseen the team of dispatchers and says this bill would help her workers with their own personal mental health.
“It really helps to be able to take time off, a lot of our dispatchers with the emotions lose sleep and aren’t able to eat sometimes it’s just very difficult, it gives us a voice for other people to understand what we are going through in here. It’s not just here with our agency, it’s everywhere. We need a voice. We need them to know we need a break…we need a break from the trauma.” Explained Garcia.