Teacher highlight

PBSC 911 dispatch program celebrates 10 years and new simulation lab

Submitted by Joyce Edelstein, Palm Beach State College

Every year, more than one million 911 calls are answered by public safety telecommunicators in Palm Beach County. This year marks a decade Palm Beach State College has been training these heroes behind the headsets. The county’s leader in public safety education, Palm Beach State established the Public Safety Telecommunications Career Certificate Program in 2012 in response to Florida becoming one of the first states to require certification for 911 dispatchers. It is still the only state college program of its kind south of Brevard County. “This program would not have been possible without Phil Berlingo and our dedicated instructors,” said Barbara Cipriano, associate dean for Public Safety. “They know firsthand the demands facing these unseen first responders, and the students have benefited tremendously. Many of our graduate’s work in the county and have risen through the ranks of this profession.” Phil Berlingo has been the program’s coordinator and one of the instructors since the program launched in 2012. He is a retired NYPD officer, who works for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO). “I can be out on the road for PBSO, and I’ll phone fire rescue for a call number, and when they answer the phone, they go right to ‘Mr. Berlingo, how’s everything going at the College?’ And then I know it’s one of my former students, and that’s the rewarding part—that they’re working in the career field.” Berlingo has had an impact on many students over the past decade. One of Berlingo’s former students Dana Zamarelli, a duty officer supervisor for the Florida Highway Patrol, graduated from the program 10 years ago and now oversees a 911 telecommunications team that covers 11 counties. “The program was fantastic,” Zamarelli said. “It covered so many things, and we had people from all sorts of different departments and agencies come in and talk about their careers. Everyone came in with so much knowledge and so much to talk about, it made me excited to keep furthering my career.” Recently the program purchased an E911 simulator system with funds from the CARES Act Rapid Credentialing Grant for the training center on the College’s Lake Worth Campus. The program can simulate a 911 dispatch operation, complete with a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system. “With SAVE Corporations E911 simulator system, we can provide a hands-on experience using a realtime CAD with real-time calls. Students pinpoint locations and dispatch mock units as we bombard them with multiple calls of all types. We can even add background noises to make it as realistic as a dispatch center.” Said Berlingo. The 232-hour program can be completed part-time (evenings) in one semester and includes field trips to key county trauma facilities and opportunities to observe professional dispatchers in action. Graduates of this state-approved program are eligible to take the Florida Department of Health 911 Public Safety Telecommunicator certification exam.

For more information on the 911 Telecommunications program please contact Joyce Edelstein at edelstej@palmbeachstate.edu