Emergency dispatchers handle 240 million 911 calls every year. Small wonder burnout and stress are making it increasingly difficult to fill these jobs.
To help municipalities attract more emergency dispatch candidates, the federal government should classify 911 dispatchers as emergency responders, instead of office and administrative support staff. That sensible change would better reflect what emergency dispatchers do, as well as access federal dollars to recruit them, and provide them with essential mental health services once they’re on the job.
The staffing crisis in 911 call centers is worsening. Last January, in part due to a COVID surge, the Allegheny County office operated with 211 dispatchers, 20 percent less than the 259 that were budgeted.
What’s more, Allegheny County is doing better than most. A recent study by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) and the National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators (NASNA) showed that more than a third of dispatch centers nationwide are operating at 70%, or less, of their budgeted staffing levels. Dispatchers are therefore working more shifts, increasing the likelihood of errors and burnout.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) reports that the state’s 2,500 911 operators answer nearly 15 million calls a year. Each dispatcher, on average, talks to 6,000 people a year, often during the darkest and most frightening moments of their lives.
Many 911 calls are frivolous or inconsequential. Others, like Bernice Simon’s frantic pleas for help during the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, are monumental. Dispatcher Shannon Basa-Sabol talked Ms. Simon through the last moments of her life — then had to return to work after a 10-minute break to collect herself.
Not surprisingly, 911 operators suffer some of the highest levels of job-related stress of any occupation. One study showed they experienced PTSD at two or three times the rate of the general population. They are also twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts, a rate higher than that for firefighters and police officers.
Still, only 19 states put 911 dispatchers on par with other first-responder occupations. Three years ago, Pennsylvania finally classified these workers as “emergency responders” as part of creating the state’s Emergency Responder Mental Wellness and Stress Management system, which includes a statewide Critical Incident Stress Management program, a peer-to-peer support system and a hotline for workers to call when experiencing a crisis.
At the same time, the federal government continues to classify “public safety telecommunicators” as “office and administrative support,” as opposed to “protective service occupations.” Congress is considering a bill — the 911 SAVES Act — that would correct this by placing 911 operators with their fellow emergency responders. That’s where they belong, and it’s time for Congress to put them there.
The move would not only unlock funding for recruitment and mental health resources, but also acknowledge the difficult and important work 911 dispatchers do as the first-first responders.
First Published: June 21, 2023, 9:30 a.m.