NORWICH – A Chenango County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher since 2006, Jeff Harter is one of 20 finalists for Rave Mobile Safety’s 9-1-1 Professionals for Smart Telecommunications Award, a national online campaign that recognizes 9-1-1 call-takers and dispatchers for their leadership, performance, compassion and professionalism.

On June 24, 2011, Harter received what Sheriff Ernest Cutting Jr. called a frantic 9-1-1 call from a Town of Preston mother whose 17-year-old daughter was choking on a piece of food and – at that time – was not breathing. The family of the child, according to a Sheriff’s Office press release, had attempted to dislodge the food prior to dialing 9-1-1, to no avail.

The patient was lying on the floor, not breathing, and turning blue.

Harter, whose training as a dispatcher includes the Basic and Advanced Dispatcher courses, as well as Emergency Medical Dispatch – or EMD – was not only able to calm the caller down, but also provided instructions in an attempt to get the patient’s airway open prior to the arrival of medics. Those instructions – part of Harter’s EMD training – resulted in a partial airway. Moments later, following further instruction, the piece of food was successfully dislodged.