Delaney Parish
I would like to nominate Delaney Parish for the 2022 IEMSA
Dispatcher of the Year award for her efforts as an Emergency
Medical Dispatcher. Delaney has one of the most calm demeanors
and her ability to talk people through difficult situations is
second to none.
Delaney's quick thinking on the evening of Friday, April 30,
2021, helped to save the life of a local resident in Oakville,
Iowa. The 911 call was received at 8:17 p.m. while Delaney was
on shift as the Dispatcher for the Louisa County Sheriff's
Office. The 911 caller stated that an approximately 50 year old
patient was actively choking on some food. Her EMO training
allowed her to instruct the caller to attempt to clear the
obstruction and perform the Heimlich maneuver. Unfortunately,
the efforts to clear the obstruction were unsuccessful. Oakville
Fire was on scene trying to manage the patient's care until an
ambulance from Wapello could arrive. Due to the remote nature,
radio traffic was hampered. Oakville's EMS providers attempted
to call the dispatch center by radio, but the traffic was very
broken and she was unable to make contact with providers at the
scene. Using what limited information she had, Delaney's quick
thinking allowed her to make the judgment call to have a
helicopter dispatched to the scene as she felt this would give
the patient the best chance at survival. She made the call and
had MedForce 2 dispatched to the scene for additional resources.
It was partially due to the efforts of Delaney that the
patient is still with us today with very few deficits from this
incident. Delaney not only used her training as an EMO, but she
also made the split second decision to do what she thought was
best for the patient and to have the helicopter dispatched even
though she was unable to confirm that EMS had requested a
helicopter. She felt the need for aeromedical transport would be
needed and rather than delay, she made the decision to request
resources that she felt were in the best interest of the
patient.
Delaney was able to stay calm and manage this incident along
with another incident in the area that was requiring a large
presence of law enforcement to manage that scene as well. She
was able to manage both incidents simultaneously and positive
outcomes were realized in both incidents.
Due to her efforts, quick thinking, and assertiveness she is
very deserving of the IEMSA 2022 Dispatcher of The Year.
