The head of D.C.'s 911 call center revealed Thursday that over the past two months, every 911 call taker and dispatcher has undergone retraining.
The hope is to prevent future mistakes that could cost lives.
Early on Sunday morning, a 911 call came through for an overdose at American University. But the dispatcher sent paramedics to the wrong address -- delaying care by an estimated 13 minutes.
The new director of the Office of Unified Communications, Heather McGaffin, acknowledged Thursday a mistake was made by someone in the 911 call center.
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"We have identified that, we have -- that call taker, and any call taker that makes a mistake in addressing, there is now a set path forward for them and how we respond to that. That includes training."
McGaffin said discipline is only used after call takers or dispatchers make repeated mistakes and retraining is not successful.
Since April of 2022, 10 employees at the 911 call center have been fired.
In that same time period, four employees have been placed on suspension.
In recent testimony before the D.C. Council, McGaffin acknowledged at least two cases since January where call takers made mistakes resulting in paramedics going to the wrong address in which the patient did not survive.
"Since February, we have increased our training, and every single person on our 911 side has received updated location training as well as updated call taker training," McGaffin said.
She added that staff who answer and dispatch the 911 calls work 12-hour shifts, and some are working overtime, because the 911 call center is shortstaffed.
The agency is funded to have 109 call takers but currently has just 81.
As for dispatchers, the call center is authorized to have 82 but currently employs 71.
Mayor Muriel Bowser spent some time with call takers on Thursday.
"They take about 3,000 911 calls every day, and about 3,100 311 calls every day," Bowser said. "Last year 350 employees here at OUC handled 1.3 million 911 calls and 1.6 million 311 calls. They truly are our first responders."
The director of the 911 call center said they are hiring, and training, new staff, but it can take as long as six to eight months before a new hire is taking calls on their own.
The agency has started a junior academy, similar to what D.C. police and fire have, to recruit high school students into the pipeline for a 911 career.
