Deerfield Dispatcher Directs Help To Endangered Patients In Puerto Rico

DEERFIELD, IL — A Deerfield Police Department dispatcher received a call from a Riverwoods resident last week with a desperate request for help. But the caller wasn't asking for help in Deerfield, Riverwoods or Bannockburn. She had learned that there were 20 patients on life support at a hospital in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, where they were reliant on a generator that was quickly running out of fuel, according to police.

The Riverwoods woman told 911 Telecommunicator Desirae Kuceba she did not know who else to call after all her other efforts to find help were unsuccessful, police said. Kuceba researched the situation and took advantage of emergency resources at her disposal, police said. Eventually, with the help of the Red Cross, she arranged for a shipment of fuel to be delivered to the hospital.

Police said they were told during a follow-up conversation that the fuel had arrived just in time to keep the hospital's patients alive. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Deerfield — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Deerfield police said they were proud of Kuceba, and all of the department's other telecommunications, for the work they do at all times, "consistently going above and beyond" for local communities.

Top photo Deerfield PD 911 Telecommunicator Desirae Kuceba | via Deerfield PD