Manatee County emergency operators adapt to changing calls amid pandemic

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. - When the red light activates, Katelyn Hutcherson answers the call. 

"911, what's the address of your emergency?" she asks the person on the other end of the line.

She's picked up 911 calls for 14 years with Manatee County's Public Safety Department. 

"Every day is different, you can’t expect every day to be the same, ever. You always have to be prepared to think outside the box," she said. 

Last year, as COVID-19 spread, her job became as vital as ever. 

"We had to learn how to adapt daily with everything that was changing," Hutcherson recalled. 

Operators were spread out, plastic dividers were put up and the questions to those on the other end of the line changed. 

"The Department of Public Safety actually got together and they had to figure out what was best for what we needed to ask from the call-taker side, and how we needed to handle the units responding -- if this was an isolated incident or a regular call," she said. 

The Manatee County 911 Center received 2,463 COVID calls. 

Hutcherson has guided some to perform hands-only CPR on COVID-19 patients. But she's done so much more over her career. 

"They're calling us on what they perceive is the worst day of their life. You really have to understand that and put yourselves in their shoes," she said. 

At work, they're known as telecommunicators. But when they're on the line, they're the voice guiding and helping each caller through. 

"I'll stay with you on the line as long as I can," she said.