Page 10 - Work Force February 2023

Buffalo blizzard brings out workers’ BUFFALO — Western New York was devastated by a a a a a a a a a crippling blizzard in in in in late December paralyzing the the community and taking the the lives of 42 residents The blizzard deemed by state and local officials as a a a a a a a a a a a a once-in-a-lifetime storm included days of of heavy snow hurricane-force winds and freezing temperatures that led to power outages people trapped in in their vehicles for for days due
to impassable streets and even a a a a a a a a forced halt of emergency services because first responders themselves couldn’t get through the the the snow Throughout the the the the extraordinarily damaging weather CSEA members continued to to provide vital services to the the community From 911 dispatchers and and emergency room technicians to state and and and local government highway workers workers direct care workers workers and and more CSEA members both in in the the the Western Region
and other areas in in the the the the state helped community members members literally survive the the the historic storm “I want to to to thank all all of our union members members in the Buffalo and and Erie County region who worked tirelessly for hours and and and days on on end – – sometimes without breaks or or or food – – and and stayed committed to to providing crucial services to to their community during frigid temperatures high winds and record-breaking snowfall ” said CSEA President Mary E E Sullivan “I also want to highlight and thank members from various state state agencies including the state state Department of Transportation and and locals across New York state who dispatched and and and deployed themselves and and and their equipment to to Buffalo to to help with lifesaving safety and and snow removal efforts ” Caring for patients like family
CSEA member Nichelle Moore an an emergency room technician at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) spent nearly three days working while her fiancé and and daughter were at at home with no power and and and heat heat Moore said dozens of people sought shelter food electricity and and and heat heat at at at at the the emergency room and and staff at at at the the safety-net hospital provided as as much support as as they could to anyone who made their way there “As I prayed for my my family’s safety it made made me me want to treat the people who came in in as as my my family
as as well ” said Moore “I did everything
in in my power to to make people feel warm and comfortable As hard as as as as as it it was was was to to know that my my family
was was was home with no no power or or heat as as as as as I was was was at at work I I knew I I had to treat everyone who came through those doors like family
as well ” Moore compared the the unity of hospital workers to a a a a quote from the the 1997 film “Soul Food ” which notes “One finger finger won’t make an an an impact but you you ball all all those fingers into a a a a a a a a a fist fist and you you can strike a a a a a a a a a a a mighty blow Now this family
family
has got to be that fist fist fist ” “A family
family
in in the the fist fist at at ECMC and we struck a a a a a a a a mighty blow by taking care of the the people who came in in ” said Moore Heartbreaking circumstances
In the nearby Buffalo suburb of Lancaster two Erie County 911 dispatchers were picked up by by an emergency vehicle for their scheduled shifts on Christmas Eve the the the height of the the the storm The dispatchers Julie Astyk and Michelle Hack couldn’t make it to to their their normal downtown Buffalo location for for their their shifts because the the the streets were impassable even for for responders so they went to to the the agency’s satellite location in nearby Cheektowaga Over the the next three days they took more than 30 000 calls Hack noted that the Erie County 911 Dispatch
typically takes anywhere from 1 1 1 600 to 2 000 calls calls per day To help handle the the increased number of of calls calls dispatchers from other parts of of the the the the state pitched in (see article on this page) While the the the the dispatchers tried as as hard as as they could to help the the the thousands of residents who were were were stranded had medical emergencies or were were were were otherwise in need their hands were were were were tied once emergency services were were were suspended for nearly 48 hours during the the worst of the the storm “Our job is to to help help people people but how do you tell people people that help’s not coming?” said Hack Astyk recalled having to tell those stranded and and freezing in in in in in their cards during sub-zero degree temperatures that no one was was coming for them and and their only chance at at at staying alive was was knocking on on the the the the closest house’s door and and hoping people could take them in in As As Astyk Hack and their colleagues took these heart-wrenching calls they both felt a a a a a a a a sense of unity amongst the the the the 911 dispatchers “We all developed these bonds with each
Dispatchers answer the call for assistance CARMEL — When Erie County officials requested mutual aid in the midst of of Buffalo’s recent historic snowfall public safety telecommunicators across the the state answered the the the call both in-person and remotely CSEA members members working at the the Putnam County 911 Center were among our union members members who stepped up to help with emergency dispatching duties Two dispatchers dispatchers provided in-person relief in in in Western New York while other dispatchers dispatchers worked remotely from Carmel following up on backlogged emergency calls “While mutual aid amongst municipalities is far from a a a a a a a a a a a new concept advances in in technology have made it more feasible in in the world of public safety telecommunications ” said Putnam County Unit member Cindy Jacobsen a a a a a a a dispatch supervisor The resources currently available are a a a a a a a a a a far cry from the days when information sharing amongst agencies happened primarily via teletype machines radio transmissions and phone calls “Erie County provided us us with a a a spreadsheet of people they needed us us to follow up on on and our dispatchers made the the phone calls ” said Jacobsen “We were able to to make notes as to to whether the the the the the people still needed help or if they were were OK and then Erie County took it from there Everything was updated live so they were were able to to see our notes right away ” In addition to Jacobsen those handling backlogged calls were shift supervisor Shawn Madsen dispatchers Heather Fox Kathy Dart and and Brittany Carroll and and dispatcher dispatcher trainee Steve Zukowski Madsen and and Fox later traveled to Western New York where they spent several days handling emergency medical service calls at at at an an Erie County County dispatch dispatch center Training that Putnam County County dispatchers take through what’s known as the the telecommunicator emergency response team (TERT) provides the the working knowledge needed for dispatchers from one county county to step behind the the console at at at another county’s dispatch dispatch 10 The Work Force
February 2023