MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — With more people moving to the area, the Manatee County 911 Center has started a new program last month to save time and resources.

Within three weeks of the new partnership, public safety officials say there have been more than 30 calls connecting people to a telehealth clinician.

According to officials at the 911 Communications Center in Manatee County, the facility averaged around 25,000 calls a month.

When the light turns red, Joe Garmyn jumps into action. Garmyn has always been in the business of helping people. He’s been a 911 dispatcher for more than 16 years, and before that, he was an EMT and firefighter.

“I absolutely love what I do,” he said. “You get those calls that do make a difference, and then you realize why you’re here.”

The center answered 16 percent more calls in 2023 compared to the previous three years’ average. That increase led the county to partner with telehealth provider MD Ally to assist with non-emergency calls, like the one Garmyn is on.

When a 911 dispatcher picks up a call, they follow a protocol to determine if the caller needs emergency services or a telehealth clinician.

“It really is to alleviate the stress off of the system and to make sure that ultimately these patients get the help that they need,” he said. “But also not to negate the fact that there are true emergencies out there, and we need to make sure that we’re caring for those patients properly.”

In the partnership’s first three weeks, dispatchers transferred more than 35 calls to a Telehealth professional. This vital role for the community can be stressful, said Garmyn, who often takes walks on his breaks to decompress.

“For me, it helps a lot,” he said. “Sometimes you just want to get out of the center. Sometimes you just want to get away. Maybe you took a bad call, or maybe you’ve just taken a lot of calls in a row and you need to clear your head.”

But he says it’s worth it because he’s making a difference and saving lives. Garmyn has two leaves on the facility’s Tree of Life, where workers get recognized for saving lives. He has twice helped save someone suffering from cardiac arrest.

“These names represent all of the telecommunications supervisors, dispatchers upstairs that have attributed to either a child being born or bringing somebody back from cardiac arrest,” he said of the recognition. “These are the calls that kind of bring you back to why you are here.”