Dispatch: The hidden first responders

Dispatchers or 911 operators work behind the scenes to keep their communities safe. They are heard but not seen. They work hard to help people often experiencing the worst days of their lives, and yet rarely learn of the outcome.

Mille Lacs County dispatchers are no different, with 10 people working around the clock, one of whom is in training, to help the community through its emergencies.

The week of April 14-20 was National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. The goal of the week is to recognize and celebrate dispatchers for their dedication to the job.

Two of Mille Lacs County dispatchers shared a sneak peek into the life of taking 911 calls.

Brigid Halberg first began working for Mille Lacs County in the jail at 19 years old. She has worked for the county ever since with 17 years in the jail and just over seven years in dispatch. She currently lives in Kanabec County near Knife Lake.

“I didn’t have plans to work in the jail, but I was 19 and applied. I worked up there for 17 years, and after that I was ready for a change and there was an opening in dispatch,” Halberg said. “I felt like it was a good change, being able to stay in the same county.”

Similarly, Elizabeth “Beth” Mhaeski has worked in law enforcement to some degree her entire career. She went to school for law enforcement and worked as a police officer in the cities for a short time before switching to Mille Lacs County and has been there for 15 years.

“I went to school for law enforcement, I’ve been a cop, my mom was a cop. I got my first job in the cities, and that was not a good fit,” Mhaeski said. “I ended up going to the (Mille Lacs County) jail and working at the jail. Then a spot opened up in dispatch and I took it.”

Mhaeski worked in the jail for a few years before switching to dispatch, where she has worked for the past 12 or 13 years. She currently lives in Princeton Township.

Both Halberg and Mhaeski enjoy their work in dispatch because it allows them to help others.

“I went into law enforcement originally to help people, and I want to still do that,” Mhaeski said.

“You feel like you’re helping people; that’s a big part of the job. I like interacting with the officers and the public for the most part,” Halberg said. “The big thing is that you feel like you’re doing something to better the community and to help people.”

But according to Mhaeski, being a dispatcher is more than just taking 911 calls. They are often doing multiple tasks at once for the county as a whole.

“We do so much. In a lot of the bigger counties, the duties are often more segregated, but we do all of it here. We do paperwork, we do record keeping, we do emergency and non-emergency calls,” Mhaeski said. “A lot of times, when people don’t know who to call, they call dispatch. A lot gets dumped on us, whether it should be or not.”

Halberg echoed Mhaeski’s statement and said that people often assume dispatchers don’t care about those that call due to a dispatcher’s need to gather information.

“They just think we’re secretaries. It’s a very multi-tasking job. We’re often taking multiple calls at once, talking on the radios, doing paperwork. … It just depends,” Halberg said. “People (also) assume that we don’t care and that we’re just getting information.”

However, gathering information is the most important part of working as a dispatcher because it helps them know the extent of the emergency, where to send help, and what kind of help the caller may need.

“We understand that when people call in, it’s usually for an emergency, but we ask that you understand that we are doing our job by asking for the information. We ask for a reason. Patience from citizens that call is big,” Halberg said.

“When people call and they are upset as you’re trying to get the information that you need from them while they’re potentially having the worst day of their life, but you need to get information to know who to send. It’s very difficult,” Mhaeski said.

As a dispatcher and 911 operator, Halberg and Mhaeski often have to deal with very challenging calls and situations. To handle those calls, the pair agree that knowing how to compartmentalize is essential.

“I’m good at compartmentalizing. In the moment, I can deal with it to get them the help they need, and as long as I can go through my checklist to know I did the best I can, I’m able to put it on the shelf. Some calls do hit hard, but you have to kind of forget about it,” Mhaeski said. “But there’s also talking to your peers to work through it that way. My husband is also very supportive.”

“I think in this job, you have to know how to separate and not bring it home with you. I also have a very supportive husband, he was a police officer so he understands,” Halberg said. “PTSD is very high in this field, and it’s higher in dispatch than people realize, but we have a lot of options for support.”

According to Mhaeski, Mille Lacs County and the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office offer free counseling to those that need it.

With those calls, Halberg said she often struggles not knowing the outcome of the situations she assists with, especially since she often recognizes the names of community members from those calls as someone who has worked in the county for so long.

“I always struggle with not always knowing the outcome. We get the first end, the first call, and we don’t always know what happens at the end,” Halberg said. “When something hits the community, we generally know the people or know the name. I think almost everybody (working in Mille Lacs County dispatch) has lived in this community. We’re your neighbors.”

“Everybody that works here is in this community. You are our neighbors. We’re part of the community, too. We’re human, too,” Mhaeski said.

From their years of experience, Mhaeski and Halberg shared some tips and knowledge they wish more people understood before dialing 911.

“The accidental calls, stay on the phone with us. Accidentals happen all the time, just stay on the phone and tell us it was an accident. It happens, don’t feel bad about it, just stay on the line so we can make sure it was not an emergency,” Halberg said.

Similarly, Mhaeski said that people often worry about calling because they don’t want to call something in that has already been reported.

“I think sometimes people are worried about calling 911 because they think someone may have already called on it, but we’d rather have 10 calls on the same incident, we know how to weed it out. We’d rather have too many calls than no calls,” Mhaeski said.

Mhaeski also said that often the quickest way to get in touch with a police officer is through dispatch as opposed to calling the police department because dispatchers are the ones that send the officers to calls.

Lastly, Mhaeski said that calling your local dispatchers for emergencies or concerns for those in different counties or states is not what the 911 system is set up for as your local calls go to your local responders.

“The 911 system is set up for the person having an emergency to call. So when you are calling for your cousin in California who is making suicidal comments on the internet, that’s not what the system is set up for,” Mhaeski said.

Dispatchers handle calls from a range of emergency situations, and some days are busier than others, according to Halberg.

“I heard a saying once: ‘We’re not paid to be busy; we’re paid to be good when we’re busy,’ and that’s what this job really is,” Halberg said.

Dispatchers are heard, but not seen. They work hard to keep their neighbors safe.

“People don’t see us. They hear us, but they don’t see us. Just know that we are here and we are here to help,” Halberg said.

To learn more about National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, visit https://www.npstw.org/about-npstw/.