WSET.com - ABC13911 Dispatchers Offering Medical Help for First Time

Reporter: Jeremy Mills | Videographer: Jonathan Merryman

Lynchburg, VA - Over the past two weeks, Lynchburg 911 dispatchers have begun handling emergency calls in a much different way.

For the first time ever, the department is offering medical assistance over the phone.

Dispatchers have been trained to evaluate any emergency and give advice to stabilize the patients.

The new protocol includes a lot of extra questions, and dispatchers want people to know these questions are for your benefit. They're based on each specific situation so they can help you while an ambulance is on the way.

Kiristy Deblock, the assistant supervisor of Emergency Services, says it's taken a lot of extra work, but it's worth it.

"It's kind of exciting in a way, it makes us feel like we are a little more a part of the process," she said.

With just a click of a mouse she can bring up a list of questions for any type of emergency.

"Pretty much everything, I can't think of anything that's not covered," said Deblock .

"We're starting the EMS process a little bit earlier, rather than waiting until the paramedics arrive on the scene," said Melissa Foster, the deputy director of Emergency Services.

The new program is already paying off. This week, dispatchers helped diagnose symptoms of a stroke.

The call went like this:

Dispatcher - "Ask her to smile."

Caller - "Baby, just smile."

Dispatcher - "Was the smile equal on both sides of her mouth?"

Caller - "No ma'am."

Dispatcher - Tell me what was different."

Caller - "She didn't smile on the left side of her face."

The diagnosis allows first responders to immediately begin treatment. In the past, that wouldn't have happened.

"The most we could do is just to reassure them that the responders were on the way," said Foster.

But now, they can give instructions. With a little more on the job training, they say they'll get even better providing help.

"That's what this is all about, it's about the citizens receiving the best service and receiving it as early as possible," said Foster.

It's not just about asking questions. Dispatchers have also learned to perform CPR and how to do the Heimlich maneuver so they can better instruct callers who are trying to save a life.