TECB Highlights Telecommunicators Using CPR to Save Lives

Saving a life in an emergency starts with a phone call or a text. In 2020, legislation was passed requiring all Tennessee emergency call takers and dispatchers to receive telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation (“T-CPR”) training and offer it when necessary.

As recent success stories attest, Tennessee emergency telecommunicators are helping save lives by sharing instructions for lifesaving T-CPR techniques with bystanders or individuals who might be witnessing someone experiencing a health emergency. 

The Tennessee Emergency Communications Board wishes to highlight all the important work of emergency telecommunicators by showcasing the work of the DeKalb County Emergency Communications District (“ECD”).

 Through the “SaveMiHeart” training program, DeKalb County ECD Director Brad Mullinax and his team have seen significant improvements in return of spontaneous circulation in post cardiac arrests. The “SaveMiHeart” training program improved the time of recognition and time of chest compressions being started. The reduction in the time between when a health emergency is recognized and when chest compressions start for an injured person is crucial in emergency situations.

Brad highlights the recent work of emergency telecommunicator Bailey Redmon who has taken approximately 12 CPR calls in two years’ time, including two recent saves where she gave T-CPR instructions on a call, keeping the patient alive until emergency medical personnel arrived to provide in-person assistance.

There are similar lifesaving stories from ECDs all across Tennessee, proving Tennessee’s 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers are among the best trained and most dedicated in the country.

The Tennessee Emergency Communications Board was created to assist emergency communications districts in the areas of management, operations, and accountability. The Board is proud to partner with our state’s 100 emergency communications districts to ensure Tennessee’s role as a leader in emergency communications.

For more information or questions about our role, contact us at 615-253-2164, via fax at 615-401-7642, or by email at tn.ecb@tn.gov. Please visit us online at www.tn.gov/commerce/emergency-communications.

Curtis Sutton Serves as the Executive Director of the Emergency Communications Board at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.

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