May 24, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.
Oneida County dispatchers receive 2021 Spirit Award
Honor named for crew lost in 2018 air ambulance crash
Oneida County dispatchers receive 2021 Spirit Award
The dispatchers were nominated for the award by communications Lt. Jacob Simkins.
Charlie Kotke, regional manager for Central Wisconsin Spirit, made the presentation.
"Your nomination was very touching, and one of several," Kotke said. "We had a very hard pick this year when it came to presenting the awards."
Kotke said the Spirit Award was created by Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Medical Transport associates and recognizes an individual or crew from the EMS community in north central Wisconsin for the exceptional, compassionate care they deliver to patients daily.
The award was created in memory of pilot Rico Caruso, flight nurse Klint Mitchell and flight paramedic Greg Rosenthal, who died in the April 26, 2018 crash of Spirit 2 in Hazelhurst as they were on their way back to their base at Ascension Howard Young Hospital in Woodruff after delivering a patient to a Madison hospital.
"We're using this to honor the crew of Spirit 2," Kotke said. "We want to continue honoring their legacy and honor those who do the same work that they did each day throughout EMS and in the communities, showing that day-to-day commitment to the communities and emergency services."
Simkins read the nomination letter as part of the brief ceremony in the dispatch center. He said when he heard about the Spirit Award and what it embodied, he "immediately thought of the telecommunicators at the Oneida County Sheriff's Office."
"The telecommunicators are the heartbeat of the sheriff's office and Oneida County. They provide a critical role in the delivery of emergency police, fire, and medical services," Simkins wrote. "Telecommunicators were behind the scenes of approximately 37,000 incidents/calls in 2020."
He noted that it is difficult to put together statistics because the dispatchers don't often learn the end result of the calls they handle.
"But I know we had a crucial role in saving lives, keeping our team of emergency services safe and making a positive impact on individuals' lives," Simkins wrote.
He said the telecommunicators who were on duty the day Spirit 2 crashed are still on the job.
"In speaking with the telecommunicators they will never forget that call but remained composed and dispatched emergency services to the area," he said.
He added that the telecommunicators understand the importance of their role each time they answer a 9-1-1 call.
"The telecommunicators are the voice that calms during your worst day, the invisible hand that comforts during death, the friend who talks people out of suicide and the ears that listen to the needs of others," Simkins wrote.
There are 13 telecommunicators working for the sheriff's department at present, with either 3 or 4 on duty during the summer, when the number of calls tends to go up, he said.
Simkins also said that the other telecommunicators not on calls can hear each other's calls, which allows one dispatcher to continue talking to a caller while another dispatches law enforcement, fire or EMS and ambulances as needed.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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