Debra Dempsey:  

ty Communications Officers, Inc. " ("The Open Mike" PGPD newsletter 1989) "In Prince George's County, Maryland - Emergency Dispatcher Dempsey Recognized for a Job Well Done It is always a privilege and a pleasure to relate E911 success stories. Emergency 9-1-1 operators nationwide perform admirable on a daily basis, handling the thousands of calls that come into the 9-1-1 Centers. Too often they do not receive the recognition they deserve because they are 'just doing their job'. The following is an incident which occurred in Prince George's County, Maryland. On November 1, 1988, in his home in the 3400 block of Brinkley Road, Temple Hills, Maryland, 14-month-old Dante Jones was suffering from an ear infection which was to send his temperature soaring to 104 degrees. The infant was resting quietly, when at approximately 2057 hours, Mrs. Margaret Offutt checked on him and saw that he was having some type of seizure, was not breathing and had "turned blue". Mrs. Offutt dialed 9-1-1 and told Emergency Dispatcher Debra Dempsey that her grandson was not breathing. Ms. Dempsey entered a call for a medical emergency and as an ambulance was racing toward the Temple Hills address, Ms. Dempsey asked if anyone at the address knew CPR. Mrs. Offutt said that her son did and Ms. Dempsey told her to have him start CPR and keep doing it until the ambulance arrived. When Mrs. Offutt shouted that,. "It isn't working," Ms. Dempsey remained calm and started giving basic CPR instructions, which Mrs. Offutt relayed to her son. After a few minutes of successful CPR, Dante started crying. Emergency Dispatcher Dempsey was able to hear the baby crying and told Mrs. Offutt that if the baby was crying that he was getting enough air and the CPR could be stopped. She remained on the telephone with Mrs. Offutt until the ambulance arrived. Dante was subsequently taken to Children's Hospital in Washington, D. C., where he was treated and released. Mrs. Offutt and her family are elated to have Dante alive and healthy, an early present before the holidays. Emergency Dispatcher Dempsey was recognized by her immediate supervisor for a job well done. It is this type of outstanding effort on the part of our Emergency Dispatchers that makes the E9-1-1 system one that citizens can turn to with confidence at a time of crisis." (by Capt. W. R. Johnson, Commander, PGPD Communications Division for NENA News, March 1989) Debbie Dempsey Awarded Maalox Heroism Prize, by Dorothy Sucher This is an amazing story. Ever hear of the One-Minute Maalox Award? Funny, right? Wrong! And if you think you've never heard of it, wrong again - at least if you read the November 7, 1996 issue of the Greenbelt News Review. Greenbelter Debbie Dempsey read that issue. When she saw the article, she thought, "Why don't I apply?" The award had been established to recognize "Ten of America's fastest-acting heroes." And Debbie, A Prince George's County emergency dispatch aide, had saved a woman's life in 1982. On Tuesday, May 6 at a ceremony in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, Debbie Dempsey received her award for heroism: $5,000 and a commemorative plaque, as well as a $1,000 donation to her favorite charity. Multi-vehicle Accident - One day in 1982, Dem[psey had been driving home from a miniature golf game with her husband a police officer. While driving on the Capital Beltway, they suddenly came upon a mult-vehicle accident -- a truck with a mangled small car practially beneath its trailer. Dempsey pulled a man from the driver's seat. Then she shook the woman who had been sitting beside him. "Her head flopped toward me, and at that moment, I realized she was dying," said Dempsey. "The trailer's rear had smashed through the windshield and the woman's face had slammed against it full force. The gaping split down the middle of her face explosed her nasal passages." Dempsey yelled to her husband to call for the police helicopter. Then with the aid of an off-duty nurse who had squeezed into the back seat and "literally held the woman's head together," Dempsey managed "to do a version of CPR that no first-aid textbook will probably ever address." Dempsey thought the woman was dead but refused to give up. And then the nurse felt a pulse! The victim sustained severe injuries, but survived. Dempsey said, "The story might have ended here, but it didn't." Three years later she happened to be the dispatcher handling an incoming call from a woman who wanted a copy of an accident report in 1982. 'I thought to myself, 'this couldn't be...' Then I asked her name." Sure enough - quite by chance, she turned out to be the woman whose life Dempsey had saved. Notification of the Award - When Dempsey first submitted her entry, she placed hte letter of acknowledgement she received into a closet and forgot about it. In January, 1997, she happned to clean out the closet, found the papers and wondered if someone had won the award. Five minutes later, the telephone rang, informing Dempsey that she was one of the winners. She had forgotten the amount of the prize, or perhaps never noticed it. "I said, 'What did I win?' They told me, and I said, 'Wow.'" Dempsey and the woman she saved have become friends and call each other from tiem to time to say hello. At Dempsey's invitation, the victim joined her at the awards ceremony. "She is an amazing woman," says Dempsey, "with a terrific sense fo humor, although she is still undergoing surgery for her injuries." How did the incident affect the prizewinner. "It increased my awareness of how life can be snuffed out. It made me feel that God was watching over me and over her. Everthing just fell into place. I can't explain it." Dempsey will be contributing the $1,000 charity award to HEROES, Inc., an organization that supports the families of police officers and firefighters who have been killed in the line of duty. Debbie Dempsey has lived in Greenbelt since 1990. She moved here because she wanted a house and GHI was the only place she could afford. Dempsey has served as a Prince George's County emergency dispatcher aid (sic) (911 calltaker) since 1977. She is responsible for quickly evaluating and dispatching units to emergency scenes. She has also worked as a volunteer for the Landover Hills Fire Department. (Greenbelt News Review, July 10, 1997) "One-Minute Maalox Award" Winner Donates $1,000 to HEROES, Inc. On May 6, 1997, ten of America's fastest-acting heroes were honored by the manufacturere of Maalox and film and television star Mark Harmon, during a special press conference and award ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The day's event represents the culmination of a campaign sponsored by Maalox and designed to honor people who have demonstrated fast action in critical situations. Each winner was presented a $1,000 donation to their favorite charity. The winners of the "One-Minute Maalox Award" were selected by an independent panel of judges for their fast action that made a difference in another person's life. Their deeds had a dramatic impact on another person's life, and in most instances, saved lives. Debra Dempsey, an emergency dispatch aide (911 calltaker) with the Prince George's County Police Department since May 1977, is responsible for quickly evaluating and dispatching units to emergency scenes. Ms. Dempsey has completed an 81-hour EMT training course and has worked as a volunteer for the Landover Hills Fire Department. During a multi-vehicle accident on the Capital Beltway during heavy rush-hour traffic, Debra Dempsey quickly performed a difficult CPR procedure on a victim who had received serious facial injuries. Due to her quick action, the victim was kept alive until an EMS unit arrived on fthe scene. HEROES, INC. SAYS THANK YOU!!!" (Inside back cover of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Golf Tournament program book, July 11, 1997)