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.

According to Cutting, the first medical unit arrived on the scene approximately 14 minutes after the initial call. Harter’s efforts, he added, were critical in saving the girl’s life.

Said the sheriff, who nominated Harter for the national award, “It was such a great thing he did ... often times you don’t hear about these things.”