When an emergency arises, call 911 from your home or business telephone, and help will soon be on the way.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner
When an emergency arises, call 911 from your home or business telephone, and help will soon be on the way.
At the Henderson County Sheriff's Department in Oquawka, telecommunicator Troy Jern was keeping busy Friday on second-shift, taking care of communication with police, checking revoked licenses, giving directions for a location of a break-in near the river, and other incidents that interrupt the silence of a historic building that has been the county jail and sheriff's office for decades.
Jern's eight hour shift (no lunch breaks) typically keeps him busy with "minor stuff," where he is also the jailer for up to fourteen inmates.
On Friday, he was responsible for ten who were mostly out-of-staters doing their time.
When an emergency arises, Jern has everything at his fingertips. His 7 years of experience, makes the procedures pretty routine.
"We dispatch 500 or more ambulance calls a year, plus fire calls," Troy said. "We have certain protocol we must follow so we can dispatch the proper emergency crews to the site.
"Most fire departments and ambulance volunteers have pagers," he said.
At that moment, the 911 Emergency phone rang!
Jern picked it up responding:
"HC 911, What's your emergency?"
"Where's he live at?
"What are the directions?
"Is he conscious?
"I'll get the ambulance?"
Immediately Jern spoke on the pager:
"Gladstone Ambulance needed. Possible broken leg. Please call Sheriff's office."
Almost at the same moment, an EMT answered the call who said she would be there.
"Gladstone Ambulance needs EMT and driver."
An immediate response came back from a driver and an EMT.
"Gladstone now has a full crew."
Within 3 minutes a crew had been called and was en route, and within seconds were on the scene. The crises was next door to the ambulance garage.
The ambulance was at the scene for 12 minutes and the patient was taken to Great River Medical Center. It wasn't long they were reported as heading "back to the barn."
Not all ambulance responses are that quick, but Jern said it was evening with more volunteers home from work.
"Our ambulances give basic life support," he said. "In critical cases where advanced life support is required, we call Paramedics from Burlington Fire Department and Galesburg Hospital Ambulance Service based out of Monmouth Hospital.
Henderson County also calls for advanced life support from Aledo, Macomb Carthage, as well as the Med/Force Helicopter based at GRMC in West Burlington, IA.
"We use choppers on bad accidents, when it takes a long time to get victims. The chopper has been used three times since the service was put in force this year.
Jern said the worst disasters are when he talks to the victims and they don't make it.
Jern has "a need to serve" in his blood. He is Director of the Oquawka Ambulance, an Oquawka EMT (10 years), Assistant Fire Chief, a Village Board Member, and an Auxiliary Policeman.
What is hardest he said, "is to dispatch crews and I can't be there to assist myself."
Second shift seems to be the busiest, and tornado nights get "really hectic."
Jern advises those who are calling in their emergency on 911, to :
The downside of helping someone, Auxiliary Policeman and former fireman and EMT Bill Tobias explained, "It's a real empty feeling when you go to the scene and there is nothing you can do."
Jern added, "I hate calling the coroner:it pretty much gives me chills to do that."
"When things don't turn out, the phone calls are tough to make."
There are two 911 emergency lines at the office plus 4 other lines.
"It can get hysterical," Jern said. "I try to stay calm when everyone else isn't."