Each Tuesday, as part of a new weekly series, we’ll be asking one of our readers to share some of the ways they stay healthy mentally and physically in our demanding field. To kick things off, Transformation Tuesday: THD Edition features The Healthy Dispatcher president and founder Adam Timm, who spent over a decade as…
By Jeffrey Vilk, Guest Writer Reflection is the act of pondering, thinking or meditating. It’s not something I do a lot because I feel like I don’t have time to, or I frivolously believe that I’m too young to be in the “reflection” part of my life. However, due to Telecommunicator’s Week and the fact I’ll…
You’ve been working hard to set the stage for success. Now, you and your employees can start writing your center’s new story, together. If you’ve been following this article series based on my book, “People Driven Leadership: How the Best 9-1-1 Centers Inspire Positive Change,” you know that this is the final installment. Over the…
9-1-1 work takes a toll on those under the headset. Are you giving your employees the resources to thrive? In 2007 a study was published—the first of its kind—exploring the connection between duty-related trauma in 9-1-1 and PTSD symptoms. This was the first conclusive evidence that proved what 9-1-1 professionals have known all along: This…
Appreciation inspires commitment — but it has to be genuine, and demonstrated daily. I began this article series with one simple premise: the best comm centers in this country share several common characteristics. Throughout the series, I’ve discussed these traits at length. We’ve seen, for example, how good communication helps centers succeed, and how the…
By Jeffrey Vilk, Guest Writer In the closing scene of the 2000 movie “The Patriot,” General Lord Charles Cornwallis is staring with despair out his window as he watches American colonists win another battle over British troops. In this moment, he utters to his assistant, “Everything is changing…everything has changed.” This is the perfect metaphor…
