‘OH, what a night’…for LC 911 dispatcher
LOUISA, Ky. — The 24 hours that surrounded July 22nd was not an ordinary shift for one dispatcher at the Lawrence County 911 call center in Louisa. It was a night she’ll never forget. But it shows just how important it is for our 911 dispatchers to be trained properly and have a personality that can work well under pressure.
The first night a call came in to 911 dispatcher Kelli Fugitt that a lady was in labor, Mrs. Fugitt, wife of Louisa Police Chief Greg Fugitt, called and dispatched the ambulance and after being transported she later gave birth.
The next day, the call center was again operating business as usual when an incoming call at 6:55 PM from the Right Fork of Laurel Rd.
Dispatcher Fugitt was on duty once again and the caller relayed that a baby had been born, yet the placenta was still in the mother. She and her husband were driving on 201 toward TRMC. Mrs. Fugitt talked the caller through the emergency of caring for mother and child, while dispatching the EMS, Fire Department and Sheriff’s office to assist in the field. In the end the EMS went to intercept the vehicle in route to the hospital and both mother and child made it through the ordeal.
This was followed shortly thereafter by another call at 1:05 A.M. with the caller stating that a lady was in labor with twins, one baby was out and the other baby still unborn.
Mrs. Fugitt, talked the caller through the situation, while she also dispatched air evac, but they had to abort flight due to the terrible weather, so Healthnet picked up the call. At this time Fugitt talked the caller through the delivery of the 2nd baby, and while the babies were flown out, the mother was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Again, everyone made it to the hospital safe. Four births in less than 24 hours, three that were born with the assistance of Mrs. Fugitt outside of a medical facility. Pretty rare in any community, much less in Lawrence County.
“From the time a call comes in to the time it is over, it is a process of teamwork and communication,” Fugitt said. “We have some of the best dispatchers, law enforcement, EMS, emergency management, and firefighters in the area. We work well as a team and our community should be proud.”
Tim Ellis, 911 Coordinator said Mrs. Fugitt was his newest dispatcher finishing the academy in July of 2015. All 7 of his dispatchers are EMD certified and also certified in telecommunications.
“They are all great at what they do, and they make my job easy,” Ellis said. “I was very proud of the job Kelli did in this case, but I’m also proud of all our 911 dispatchers in every case.”
Lawrence County Emergency Management reported: Last report all moms and babies are doing well.
(Names of moms, dads and babies were not available due to HIPPA laws that protect privacy of patients but all were from Lawrence County.)
Congratulations to each family.
