The Resilient 911 Professional

Book excerpt: 9-1-1 telecommunicators are heavily exposed to traumatic stressors in the line of duty as our nation's Very First Responders. They struggle with PTSD at a rate believed to be four to five times higher than the general public. These 9-1-1 Professionals and their leaders must be equipped to protect their own well-being, and to safeguard the performance of our 9-1-1 centers facing an ever more demanding future. The 911 Training Institute is proud to announce the release of a book that will finally meet this need: The Resilient 9-1-1 Professional: A Comprehensive Guide to Surviving & Thriving Together in the 9-1-1 Center. This volume, edited by Jim Marshall and Tracey Laorenza, brings together an unprecedented group including 9-1-1 frontliners, their managers, joined by subject matter experts in public-safety, mental health and public administration. Together they deliver powerful stories and fascinating science revealing the health risks faced by "9-1-1Pros" and a full spectrum of solutions to manage these risks and optimize the personal and organizational well-being in our 9-1-1 centers. This book stands alone in the 9-1-1 industry and serves as essential training for all front-line dispatchers, supervisors, and managers/directors. It is also imperative reading for all those who influence and benefit from 9-1-1 emergency services: field responders, government officials, mental health professionals; all organizations that aid public-safety agencies; and, all those family and friends who love a dispatcher. Dispatchers face very high stakes every day. Our investment as a nation of 9-1-1 stakeholders in supporting and empowering them must be equally as high.