Great emergencies and crisis show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed. – William James, American psychologist (1842-1910)
The best way to get a sense of what kind of emergencies might present themselves in your community…is by contacting offices of emergency management. – Dr. Irwin Redlener, American pediatrician and public health activist. (1944-)
In most everyone’s life you’ll one day encounter an emergency. An emergency is not something you can foresee, it’s unexpected. It’s a serious matter, usually a dangerous situation needing immediate attention. The first thing you can do is to stay calm and think through what you need to do. Any number of unfortunate things could happen. Be prepared.
Last week we encountered such a situation. A friend needed help with a family member, the family member was critically ill and needed to be transported to the ER. The 911 call was made. The minute the caller connected with 911, described the emergency, and the location, the dispatcher contacted the responders. There was one glitch. There were three locations with roads, streets, coves having the same name delaying the ambulance.
I determined to take Dr. Redlener’s advice and visit the Emergency Management Services. I learned a lot and would like to share how to handle a 911 emergency. I hope you will share the information with your family, friends, neighbors. By informing the people you love and care for and maybe people in your neighborhood, church, school, or at work you could save a life, maybe even your own.
Cindy Lawrence, Emergency Management Director, and two other ladies in the Emergency Management Services explained to me exactly how 911 works in Lowndes County. Because of the number of addresses with the same street name the caller must be as clear as possible. The EMS does not have the capability of locating you by your cell phone. You must give 911 your location. Give your address, zip code, your district, any intersecting roads or streets that connect with your location. If you are near a well known building, a church, a school, business give that information.
Because our emergency occurred on a gravel road, we sent a neighbor to the intersection of the gravel road and two well known roads. The ambulance paramedics knew someone was ready to lead them to the patient.
Also, should you make a 911 call and you are anywhere near a county line make sure you have connected with the proper county. Cell phones, depending on where you are in Lowndes County, may connect you to neighboring counties such as Clay or Oktibbeha.
After visiting with Ms Lawrence I studied a Lowndes County map and found six “Cedar” Cove, Drive, Lane, Point, Street, Crest. There are three “Mason” Circle, Drive, Road. There are three “Dogwood” Blvd, Cove, and Street. Swoope Road has a North, West, and East location, as far as the East from the West. Please, do your homework. Save a life, it could be you or someone you love.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
