NICE News Special Edition - Volume 3, Issue 1

	CHRIS WOOTEN UPDATE COLORADO'S DOUGLAS COUNTY INTRODUCING NICEUNIVERSE^® NICE IN THE NEWS ON THE MOVE AT NICE SPOTLIGHT ON LESLIE HOCKADAY BANGKOK'S NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT COMPLETE NICE SURVEY: ENTER $100 CASH DRAWING OSLO MEDICAL CENTER PUBLIC SAFETY RESOURCE CENTER NICE EVENTS




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SPOTLIGHT ON LESLIE HOCKADAY, ROUTT COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS

Pictured: Leslie Hockaday, Communications Specialist, Routt County Communications

As a child growing up in Hayden, Colorado, Leslie Hockaday was fascinated by the world of emergency services - the blare of sirens, the flashing lights on emergency vehicles racing by. What was a captivation for Leslie eventually became her calling, as she went on to pursue careers as an EMT and subsequently in public safety telecommunications.

For Leslie, going from the ambulance crew to the dispatch center was a natural progression. Both careers had a common denominator - helping people. "I love helping people," she said. "I really enjoyed making people feel better as an EMT, and I felt like 9-1-1 was another vital link to that."

Today, Leslie is a communications specialist for the Routt County, Colorado, Communications Center, a position she has held for nearly three years. Nestled in the picturesque "ski town" of Steamboat Springs, Leslie's center handles 9-1-1 calls for 49 agencies within Routt, a County that encompasses an area about the size of Rhode Island. At full-staff, the center employs 15 telecommunicators, who work in shifts of two, both taking and dispatching calls.

Leslie recounts her first experience behind a 9-1-1 console. "I thought it was very exciting," she said. "My initial impression was it was very much like an adrenalin rush. Often you have down time, but as soon as that 9-1-1 call comes in, it's an instant rush - and you're in the moment."

On December 23, 2005, Leslie felt that rush of adrenalin in a very big way when she was working 9-1-1, and not one, but a stream of emergency calls came in within a matter of minutes.

Sharon Clever, the supervisor/9-1-1 coordinator for Routt County and one of Leslie's supervisors, relates what happened. "That was probably one of our most traumatic days in here," she said. "Leslie was working three serious incidents all at once."

The first call to come in was a two vehicle accident with fatal injuries. Next was a nine-year old girl whose eleven-year old brother had fallen off of his snowboard and was stuck in the snow head first. When he was pulled out, he wasn't breathing. Then more calls came in from citizens who had sighted a police office wrestling with a non-compliant suspect on the side of the road.

Sharon, a veteran of Routt County for twenty-one years, who began her career in 9-1-1 as telecommunicator, says that Leslie's handling of all three calls was exemplary. "Leslie remained calm," she explained. "She was able to keep track of where her units were. She continued to advise them and never missed a step."

According to Leslie, the ability to multi-task is an essential skill in 9-1-1 communications. "I definitely think it's one the most important skills for a telecommunicator," said Leslie. "You need to be able to do multiple things at once, to listen to people and take instruction, to type or write. If an officer's telling you something and an ambulance crew member is telling you something else, you have to remember what they both wanted and get it to them in a timely manner."

Leslie also has some special techniques that she uses to calm hysterical callers and get them to listen. "I try to talk in a very low tone voice. Usually, I find if I'm quieter they're going to try to make themselves quiet to hear what I'm saying," she said. "Sometimes, it also helps just to tell the person 'let's take a deep breath,' and to just sit there and breathe with them." If all else fails, she'll use a verbal slap (in the form of a firm "listen to me") to get the caller's attention.

But, what really makes Leslie stand out as a telecommunicator, according to Clever, is her overwhelming desire to help. In addition to her regular 9-1-1 duties, Leslie goes above and beyond when it comes to helping people. "Once she assisted a caller from England locate her son-in-law who was staying in Steamboat Springs during the busy holiday season," noted Clever. This involved considerable "detective work" on Leslie's part, something she relishes in her call-taking and dispatching work as well.

"I really like the whole investigation process," she said. "When the call comes in, I like trying to figure out where someone's calling from, what's going on with the call, and getting the caller help."

She also says it's important to always be sympathetic with the public and to never allow yourself to become complacent. "Every day is very different, but at the same time, it's easy to become complacent," she added. For telecommunicators who do the job day in and day out, '300 call syndrome' can set in. (That's where, Leslie says, all of the calls start to blend together.) "It definitely takes a lot of work make sure that doesn't happen - to take each call and treat each caller individually as its own unique occurrence," Leslie pointed out.

In any event, for Leslie, what began as a fascination has come full circle. She's looking forward to continuing her work in telecommunications and as a member of the Routt County center's APCO-certified training team. Leslie, a busy new mom (to an 8-month old), has even thrown her hat into the ring to become the center's new CPR instructor.

"It's definitely not your typical Monday through Friday job, but I really enjoy dispatch," she said. "And I see it definitely as a career, not just a job."