911 Dispatcher Honored

Teneria Gilstrap of Decatur, a 911 dispatcher with the Atlanta police, kept her cool on March 20 when a 10-year-old girl called to say her grandmother appeared to be ill.

For her performance, Gilstrap was honored April 19 during the Georgia State 9-1-1 Heroes Awards Ceremony.

Gilstrap is the mother of an 18-month-old daughter. She worked for the E 911 Communications Center from 2003 to 2006 and returned in November 2011.

The Atlanta police provided this description of Gilstrap's cool-headed professionalism.

On March 20, 2012, 10-year-old Marcella Hughley called 9-1-1 when she realized that her grandmother was not alert and had unsteady breathing. 

Marcella calmly spoke to E 911 Communications Dispatcher Teneria Gilstrap of the Atlanta Police Department, and it turns out that Marcella’s grandmother’s sugar level was extremely low, and she had bubbles coming out of her mouth. 

Had it not been for Marcella’s quick thinking, her grandmother could have gone into a diabetic coma.  Because of Marcella’s courage and bravery, her grandmother is alive and well today.

Dispatcher Gilstrap through her quick thinking and training immediately recognized a problem and was able to calmly guide Marcella through the phone call, which kept her grandmother alive until paramedics arrived.  

She noted that anyone working in the E 911 Communications Center that night could have answered that call and she is accepting her award on the behalf of all E 911 dispatchers whose role in averting disasters is so often overlooked.