Kate Polischak knows the importance of staying calm in an emergency situation.

That’s because she is one of 21 people who make up the 911 communications center dispatching team who man the center 24 hours a day.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners thanked her and her colleagues for all they do to help the people of the county whenever emergencies strike by proclaiming April 8 to 14 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in the county.

“This is a time when we can underscore the importance of these dispatchers and the great work they do,” Commissioner William O’Gurek said.

“Being a small county, our dispatchers know a lot of the people who are out there,” Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein added. “They are the people behind the scenes whenever we have an emergency.”

Nothstein then read the proclamation, which states that the “Carbon County emergency dispatchers are the first and most critical contact our citizens and visitors have with the emergency services … dispatchers have contributed substantially to the apprehension of criminals, suppression of fires and treatment of patients.”

Polischak, who is a senior dispatcher with 10 years of experience, said that getting recognized is an honor because the dispatchers aren’t usually known except as a voice on the radio or phone.

“A lot of people don’t see us, don’t normally acknowledge us, but when someone has an emergency, we’re the first ones to help,” she said. “When you need us, we’re there. If you dial 911, someone will answer that phone to help you.”

Dispatching isn’t just about answering phones either, Nothstein pointed out. Each dispatcher must complete 300 hours of training to become certified as an emergency medical dispatcher before they can officially be called a dispatcher. This certification provides callers with a person on the phone who is trained in the steps of CPR, airway management, hemorrhages, choking, laceration care and other medical problems, and can help walk them through caring for a patient before EMS arrives.

They also work closely with fire and police to provide as much information of the emergency situation as possible to help when time matters.

Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said that Carbon has a dedicated team, with years of service ranging from four to 15 years.

In addition, he said, the 911 director, Gary Williams, also has 25 years of service in the field, which shows the kind of professionalism that is on the other end of the 911 calls.

Last year, these dispatchers handled a total of 138,674 emergency calls.