When Dispatcher-Trainer Lexi Friedli answered the call on January 23, 2020, she had a man on the line who was driving into Vandalia. In his backseat – a woman in active labor about to deliver a baby. Lexi had the man pull his truck over and began to provide Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) instructions which the caller then relayed to the father of the baby in the backseat.
Only seconds after Lexi took the call, Dispatcher Tiffany Beede dispatched an ambulance to the scene. Lexi’s timely instruction, paired with the careful, calm relay of the caller, were instrumental to the birth of a healthy, breathing, crying baby girl. Van-Far Ambulance arrived on scene shortly after the birth and took over care of the mother and newborn baby.
The Missouri Chapter of APCO adds our appreciation for the efficient and coordinated teamwork of Lexi and Tiffany. Lexi is the first Audrain County 9-1-1 Dispatcher to work through the EMD childbirth protocols to the actual delivery of a little life without field responders at the scene. We congratulate the baby’s parents on the birth of their baby girl.
Tiffany has been a dispatcher for three years. Lexi has been a dispatcher for almost two and half years and was recently promoted as a trainer. She has always shown a high aptitude for medical calls. This one was the highlight of her career to date. In her own words “By far, the best day I have ever had here!”
Missouri APCO is proud to acknowledge Lexi Friedli and Tiffany Beede as Missouri Teammates in Action.