08/25/2026
Sometimes a 911 call comes full circle. On May 8, 2026, our 911 center received a call from a patient experiencing severe chest pain. On the other end of that call was ECO Kate, who remained calm, reassuring, and kept him talking while our EMS providers made their way to him.
What Kate didn’t know at the time was that this patient already had eight heart attacks and the pain he was feeling that day was worse than anything he had experienced before.
To make things even more challenging, the caller wasn’t sure where he was other than he’d pulled into a gas station. Using our technology and resources, Kate was able to determine his location and get help on the way.
Last week, we received a handwritten letter in the mail from this patient. He took the time to personally recognize Kate for the way she handled his call and also wanted to make sure the EMS providers who responded knew just how much he appreciated the care they provided - and most importantly, as he said today, they took the time to listen and help him.
Today that letter became something even more special. He came to our center to meet Kate and Firefighter/EMT Conner Mace, who cared for him that day. He had the opportunity to see our 911 center and meet some of the people behind the voice on the other end of the phone.
This is why we do what we do. In Emergency Communications, we often never get to know what happens after the call ends. We move on to the next emergency. It’s rare we get to hear from someone we helped and even rarer to have the opportunity to meet them afterward.
We are so grateful this patient took the time to recognize not only Kate but also our EMS providers that cared for him. His words meant more than he probably realizes.
