KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - In recognition of outstanding service to the community, two emergency 9-1-1 dispatchers from the Eastside Communications Center will be honored tomorrow with Emergency Medical Dispatcher of the Year awards from Public Health - Seattle & King County and its Emergency Medical Services Division.

“Providing life-saving instructions to residents over the phone is a critical activity performed by our 9-1-1 dispatchers, and dispatchers deserve recognition for this vital work during medical emergencies,” said Dorothy Teeter, Interim Director and Health Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County.

The recipients will be presented with the awards at a ceremony at 12:30 p.m. on July 27th at Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98004. Media representatives should wait by the first floor elevators for an escort to the 7th floor. This year’s award winners include Christie Garcia and Dawn Morton, both employees from the City of Bellevue Eastside Communications Center.

Christie Garcia was recognized for sustained exemplary performance during the year. Ms. Garcia has worked for the City of Bellevue for four years. “Eastside Communications Center is particularly proud of Christie’s dedication to helping the citizens of King County,” said Pam Bryson, EMS Coordinator for Eastside Communications. Criteria for receiving the award included a willingness to be a team player and the ability to dispatch emergency medical calls with control, compassion and empathy for the caller.

Dawn Morton was recognized for the exemplary handling of an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) incident. On March 24, 2006, Ms. Morton received a call from a Mercer Island resident requesting medical help for his wife. After a quick evaluation, Dawn determined that the patient was in cardiac arrest and promptly started giving compression-only CPR instructions to the man over the telephone. The Mercer Island patient survived this initial incident, and she and her husband contacted Dawn to convey their gratitude.

“Emergency Medical Dispatchers are the gatekeepers of our EMS system. They are the first to speak to persons reporting medical emergencies, and their part in managing resources and providing critical pre-arrival instructions is extremely important,” said Thomas Hearne, Manager for the Emergency Medical Services Division of Public Health - Seattle & King County.

Eastside Communications Center provides police, fire and medical dispatching for local law enforcement, fire and paramedic agencies in the east and north regions of King County. Approximately 41,000 emergency calls for medical assistance are processed each year by the communications center.

King County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operates in a coordinated partnership with four dispatch centers, six paramedic providers, and 35 fire departments. Funded through a countywide EMS/Medic One Levy, King County EMS utilizes a layered-response system providing a continuum of care for people in need of emergency medical services. For more information on King County EMS, visit www.metrokc.gov/health/ems.

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