Tanya Moder, who recently retired after 31 years as a Jefferson County 911 dispatcher, has helped countless people deal with medical issues and other emergencies.
“The amount of lives she has touched throughout her career were innumerable, and we wish her well in retirement,” 911 Dispatch Chief Travis Williams said.
Moder also has helped deliver babies.
“I have delivered five babies over the phone,” said Moder, 60, of Barnhart. “The most memorable was talking a 5-year-old girl through delivering her mom’s baby during an ice storm. That had to be 25 years ago. It was the second baby I delivered over the phone. Everything went OK. In fact, every baby I helped deliver survived. I think I hold the record for over-the-phone deliveries.”
Moder, who retired June 1, said she loved the job but doesn’t believe the general public understands the stress placed on dispatchers.
“You can have a hysterical person on the line and have to teach an hour’s class to (the person) in 30 seconds, and you’re doing it blind because you can’t see what they’re doing,” she said.
Moder said another stressful situation she encountered on the job was “talking people out of a burning building.”
She said people have reached out to her to thank her for helping them during a desperate time.
“I once received a call from a suicidal male armed with a gun who had his children with him,” she said. “By the time officers got there, I’d talked him into surrendering.
“This man called (the 911 Dispatch office) two years later and asked for me. He said, ‘I want to thank you.’ I asked if he was OK. He said he’d been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, but said I’d given him two years with his kids. That stands out for me.”
She said another memorable call involved a man who called asking for help with his wife who was dying from breast cancer.
“It was an older man. He told me their whole love story. She was dying,” Moder said. “I stayed on the line with him. To hear someone’s beautiful story was amazing.”
Before starting her job with 911 Dispatch, she had worked as a deputy for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
“I had gone into communications at the Sheriff’s Office before I started (at 911),” she said. “My husband (the late Denny Moder) at the time was a police officer. We didn’t need both of us on the road with young children.”
As part of her duties at 911, Moder was a dispatcher instructor.
“I wrote state-certified classes for dispatchers,” she said. “They were on everything from domestic violence to responder safety to weapons of mass destruction. I was a certified instructor through the Department of Homeland Security for weapons of mass destruction, like if you find a dirty bomb.”
While she enjoyed her work, Moder said the job of getting information from people during their time in crisis could weigh on her.
“It was overwhelming at times,” she said. “You get people screaming they’ve been shot at, or an officer was shot at, about paramedics who died on the job, or you’re telling a kid how to do CPR, or you’re not being able to understand something is wrong when they can’t talk.”
Moder said she also wants the public to know that when someone calls 911 and hangs up, it does not end the response from emergency responders.
“If you call 911 by mistake, don’t hang up,” Moder said. “We must investigate and it takes up time and we have to send an officer.
“We don’t know if you’re being held hostage. We have to investigate. Just answer the questions we ask.”
Moder said she encourages others to pursue a career as a dispatcher.
“It’s a career I’d advise for other people,” Moder said. “It’s fulfilling, because you make a difference. You literally save people’s lives every single day. But, it is not for the faint of heart.”
Williams said Moder definitely made on impact on his agency.
Illness leads to retirement
Moder said she retired due to health problems.
“In February, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, RP – relapsing polychondritis,” she said. “After testing, I was also diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome.
“RP destroys the cartilage in your body. Fewer than 5,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with it. It affects your heart, liver, lungs – internal organs. It affects connective tissue.
“The only treatment is immunosuppressant medications and chemotherapy.”
Sjogren’s syndrome is an immune system syndrome involving dry eyes and dry mouth. It often accompanies immune system disorders, she said.
Moder said people she worked with are helping her raise funds for RP research.
During her retirement, Moder is tending to her health and spending more time with her husband, Milton Boehm, and other family members.
“I’m really focusing on my health, because RP will kill you if left untreated,” she said.
She also helps with good causes.
“I’m volunteering with Second Hand Heros, a place where people in need can get essential items for free,” Moder said.
Second Hand Heros, a nonprofit organization, is based at 113 Mississippi Ave. in Crystal City.
Moder also helps with the Free Little Art Gallery, 2232 Sonora Drive, in Arnold.
“It’s a stand in my friend’s yard where you do art work for little kids,” she said. “Children can come and take whatever art they want. My grandson, Gunner, and I make art for it. I also have a granddaughter, Bella, who helps me with crafts.”
She said she also knits items to be distributed to people experiencing homelessness.
Williams said Moder was a valued employee and will be missed. “On behalf of the management and staff at 911, we congratulate Tanya on her retirement and thank her for her 30-plus years of service,” he said.