The Voice of Response

The room is deliberately dim. It's easier on the eyes.

The duties from the outside appear to be simple, but can change at any give moment, or one phone call to the next.

Responding to a moment of distress is more than calling 911 and waiting. It is the middle-man, the link between the incident and the first responders. It is how the dispatcher asks for information, how the caller relays the information to the dispatcher, and how the dispatcher communicates with numerous departments he or she serves.

The Cheyenne County Communications Center serves several departments, from public transportation to emergency services.

Initially, the needs are the same. A service is required that needs the Comm Center's assistance. Sorting out the need, and the details related to it, is the next steps. It is not unusual for calls to quickly change from routine to stressing, even life-changing.

Ashley Boman has been on staff with the Cheyenne County Communications Center for about six years. She moved from California to Chappell, graduating with the first Creek Valley graduating class.

“Sometimes its a little overwhelming,” she said of the dispatcher's desk. “It just depends on what's going on.”

She was drawn to the position by a former employee who encouraged her to apply to be a dispatcher. She applied, then met with the Communications Center director, Heidi Gillespie.

Boman was told “you're either made for the job, or you're not.”

Among the challenges is how to maintain a calm and professional approach to every call when one might be a life-threatening situation and within the same moment a call from a resident needing public transportation; both are important to the respective caller, and both need a polite and professional response, but one also needs a different priority than the other. Boman says the Communication Center employees, and many of the law enforcement and first responders, react as family. The Communication Center serves two sheriff's departments, one police department, seven fire departments and two ambulance services. The mixed blessing of serving a collection of small communities is the chance any given call could involve a friend or family member.

In addition to the need for strong customer service used in each call, a dispatcher has to direct the caller according to the priority of information. Where something happened is first priority over what happened. As an example, if someone calls to report their neighbor fell in the driveway, and drops the call before giving the address, first responders have to work harder to arrive at the scene on time. The success of the first responders depends on the accuracy and response of the dispatchers.

Boman said it is important to address each call on its own merit, and leave personal emotions at the door.

“Everybody deserves the highest customer service we can give,” she said.

The moment-to-moment change of the job's intensity requires each dispatcher be focused and prepared to address each call. Boman said a dispatcher cannot be at his or her duty station and not be OK. She says she doesn't struggle often, but when it does happen, the Communication Center crew relies on each other.

While stress does occur, and calls that may need a dispatcher to step away for a moment there are also moments that are lifetime memories. She recalls helping deliver a baby, as a dispatcher, during a snowstorm, and helping locate an older man with dementia.

The Cheyenne County Communications Center has two openings. Applications can be found on the communications center website, the Cheyenne County website, or at the county clerk's office. Training is an eight to 10-week course covering policy and procedures, learning the phones, radios and mapping system. New employees start with the radio; it is easier, according to Boman.