ECPD dispatcher helps with baby’s delivery over the phone
EL CENTRO — An El Centro Police Department dispatcher participated in perhaps the most fulfilling emergency call of her career recently as she provided step-by-step assistance to a couple whose new baby arrived before they could reach the hospital.
After the couple pulled to the side of the road to deliver their baby, Alexandria Justman provided textbook instructions over the telephone — and before she knew it, the couple had successfully welcomed their healthy baby into the world.
“Any call that we take, I’m always super nervous,” Justman said. “But you just can’t let it get to you. You just put that aside and react and just handle the call.”
It was the first time in her three-and-a-halfyear career as an ECPD dispatcher that Justman helped deliver a baby. She only previously provided emergency medical dispatching for women in labor, which medical personnel responded to immediately.
The couple Justman assisted was driving from Calexico on Highway 111 on their way to check in at El Centro Regional Medical Center.
The husband called 911 at about 1 a.m. March 23 after realizing his wife was possibly going to give birth before they could reach the hospital.
“It sounded like he had a lot of time since he said her water hadn’t broken, but he then told me her contractions were less than a minute apart,” Justman said. “So I was concerned at that point.”
The couple eventually pulled over their vehicle on Highway 111 near Evan Hewes Highway, prepared possibly to deliver their child themselves if medical personnel didn’t arrive soon enough.
“It ended up not being in our jurisdiction, so I transferred it over to the Sheriff’s Office, but they don’t offer EMD, so I helped them do it,” Justman said. “I gave them the first set of instructions, and before I knew it, he told me the baby had already come out.”
Before ambulance and local fire personnel were able to arrive on scene, the husband had already laid blankets out in the backseat of their Dodge Avenger and helped his wife welcome their fourth child with the help of Justman’s instructions.
“The fire department and paramedics got there about 10 minutes after the baby had already been delivered, so they (the couple) really did it all on their own,” the ECPD dispatcher recalled. “They then transported her to ERCMC.”
County dispatch helped guide the medical personnel to the right location while Justman provided assistance.
“Once I got to hear the baby cry over the phone, I knew helping the dad deliver the baby was pretty extraordinary,” the ECPD dispatcher admitted. “We’re not used to hearing good stories. In fact, the week before, we had a really bad week of calls that we handled, so I felt very lucky to have experienced this. It made all of the bad stuff worth it.”