Hero EMT dispatcher helps pinpoint lost stroke victim in 8-hour phone call marathon

[UrbScotty]

A heroic FDNY dispatcher went beyond the call of duty — staying on the phone with an elderly Upper East Side stroke victim for nearly eight hours while rescuers struggled to pinpoint the woman’s location.

EMT Joann Hilman-Payne took the call from Mary Thomas at about 1 p.m. Monday — and kept the line open as emergency responders tried to find Thomas’ address, according to FDNY documents obtained by The Post.

Rescue workers were first dispatched to an East 71st Street address based on a cellphone tower relaying Thomas’ call. But she wasn’t at that location.

That’s when Hilman-Payne and her boss, Lt. Arlene Simmons, sprang into action, according to Emergency Medical Dispatch Capt. Philip Weiss, who wrote a letter to the FDNY on Tuesday asking for recognition for Hilman-Payne and her colleagues.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/hour_stroke_vic_call_Hj1cArXID8WSdoLnsHs1mO