Miss. County Honors Actions of 9-1-1 Dispatcher

May 11--SALTILLO -- Jade Grissom enjoys the intensity her job as a 911 dispatcher brings.

So it didn't surprise her co-workers when she made the extra effort credited with helping save a man's life.

Not only did her actions last October earn her a runner-up spot in the state dispatcher of the year award, it sparked Lee County to create its own award.

"The second week in April is National Telecommunicators Week so we decided to start recognizing one of our dispatchers each spring, either for one particular case or doing a great job all year," said Tanya Mayo, quality assurance supervisor for Lee Communications.

Grissom was about three hours into a 12-hour shift on Oct. 8, 2015, when an adjoining county's 911 system called with a medical emergency in Lee County. When someone calls 911 from a cellular phone, it uses the nearest tower, which in this case was in the next county.

"All they said was they had a man with trouble breathing. There was no address and the (call back) phone number was wrong," Grissom said. "The only information they had was a county road number.

"We can look up previous incidents by address, so I started researching all the calls on that county road trying to find a number that was similar enough. I started with 2010. When I found an address I thought was close, I dispatched (an ambulance).

"I'm not sure how long it took (to find an address), but I'm sure it seemed a lot longer for him. I was busy and I don't do anything slow."

According to records, the initial call came in at 8:58 a.m. Two minutes later medics were dispatched to the address Grissom found. The ambulance drove straight to the man's house and arrived at 9:15.

"She went above and beyond," Mayo said. "The man had a history of cardiac problems and he was crashing. She saved his life."

Grissom said she did follow up to check on the condition of the man later, as she often does.

"The hardest part for a dispatcher is not knowing the outcome," Grissom said. "You want to know that yes, they did survive, whether it's a medical call, a fire or even a hostage situation.

"On the more meaningful ones, where more is done, and the bigger calls, I do try to follow up. I've got plenty of people out there on the other end of the (911) radio who can give me updates."

Grissom has worked as a dispatcher since 2009 and felt called to the job.

"I grew up wanting this," Grissom said. "It is a stressful job, but I feed off the excitement and the adrenaline rush. I will do whatever I can to get a good result."

And her life away from the 911 call center is just about as hectic. The 29-year-old is married to a policemen and tries to keep up with three sons and seven dogs on a 70-acre farm.

william.moore@journalinc.com

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