Pa. 9-1-1 Employee who Resigned after Dispatching Error Named
Jan. 09--The Luzerne County 911 call center telecommunicator who resigned in the aftermath of a dispatching error that ended with a man dead was identified Thursday on a county personnel transaction report.
Several county officials confirmed the dispatcher who resigned in lieu of being fired is Jennifer L. Paull. Personnel records show she was hired as a telecommunicator in July 2013 at a salary of $25,500.
Paull did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday.
County officials said Paull mistakenly sent emergency crews to 36 S. Gates St., Wilkes-Barre, instead of 36 S. Gates Ave., Kingston, on Thanksgiving morning after family members of Vincent Marcario, 46, reported he was having a heart attack.
According to the call center, the caller requested help at the Kingston address and was asked if it was Kingston Township or Kingston borough. The caller said she thought it was "borough, by Kirby Park," according to the center. But Paull mistakenly sent the ambulance to the Wilkes-Barre address, officials said.
Family members struggled to preform CPR in a cramped bedroom while they waited for help, but it wasn't until Marcario stopped breathing that his family called the center again and the ambulances were sent to the correct address.
An internal investigation determined Paull violated call center protocol and she was suspended. Paull later resigned in lieu of being fired on Dec. 15, the officials said.
The mix-up was the second high-profile dispatching error in recent months for the call center. In May, 52-year-old Michelle Dzoch was killed in a fire in which another call-taker mistakenly sent firefighters to 76 Main St. in Conyngham borough -- an address that didn't exist in a location about 15 miles away from the fire at 76 Main St., Mocanaqua, Conyngham Township.
Telecommunicator Debra Pac was fired for that error. Dzoch's family is suing the county.
According to the latest personnel transaction report, the 911 call center lost a total of six telecommunicators last month. In addition to Paull, the report shows Jennifer Lasiewicki quit Dec. 31 and Matthew Maciejczak resigned Dec. 11.
Three other telecommunicators were fired last month, the report shows. Erika Hoffman, Dallas Segear and Ana Borkowski-Gunn were all fired Dec. 4, according to the report.
County officials said the other departures were not connected to the recent dispatching errors.
Call center Executive Director Fred Rosencrans said Thursday that in some cases employees left to take higher-paying jobs, while other employees were trainees that didn't work out due to recent policy changes and more stringent training standards.
The center, he said, is operating on a "zero tolerance policy."
The center, which has about 48 telecommunicators, just added seven to the floor and has another four who just started training Monday, he said. He also hopes to advertise seven more positions soon, he said.
"As quick as they're leaving, we're trying to fill them," Rosencrans said.
570-821-2058, @cvjimhalpin
Copyright 2015 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
