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A Very Good Year

Audrey Fraizer

Audrey Fraizer

Web Exclusives

Most would agree Lexus Robinson had a very good year. In November, she celebrated her first anniversary with the Moore Police & Fire Communications Center, Oklahoma (USA). 

On July 25, 2021, she became the first EMD to assist in the delivery of a baby since the 911 center implemented the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS®) in early summer. The father was Robinson’s co-pilot and from the jingle of keys rattling in his pocket, he was not happily anticipating his seat at the controls. He was notably anxious.

Robinson could hear the mom, and the voice did not sound calm or like there was much time to spare. She was in hard labor and the baby was crowning. “We need to help her now,” Robinson said.

Robinson commenced instructions for childbirth delivery and, alerted by the baby’s first cry into the world and dad’s acknowledgment of the baby’s arrival, gave care instructions while awaiting EMS. She later learned the baby and mother were healthy and doing well. 

Robinson attributes a smooth birth to the confidence of using the MPDS and practice, practice, and practice. “If we’re not super busy at work, we create scenarios from the different protocols,” she said. Call it coincidence or simple luck, Robinson had recently focused on practicing the PAIs for childbirth and delivery.

Robinson received a letter of commendation for “outstanding service” signed by Moore Police Chief Todd Gibson. A commemorative coin was also given to Robinson.

This was not the first letter of recommendation recognizing Robinson’s efforts and compassion for helping others. The second letter came in response to her actions during a call she had not practiced although was prepared to answer.

Several months prior to the baby delivery, Robinson persuaded a teenager to step back off from the edge of the town’s 34th Street bridge. “She said her life was not going well and she had already climbed to the top,” Robinson said. “She had it all planned out.”

Robinson kept the teenager on the phone for about 10 minutes, and police officers, upon their arrival, were able to bring the girl down and over the guardrail to safety. Robinson said the relative closeness between their ages helped. She is a recent college grad—double bachelor’s degrees in forensic science and criminal justice—and the teenager was in high school.

“We were able to relate,” Robinson said. Not so much about the suicide ideation but the angst experienced by some younger people. “I let her know people care. She wasn’t alone.”

The 911 call, Robinson admitted, was nerve-racking in retrospect. She remained focused and calming during the call. Afterwards, she took a short break. “The job comes with a lot of high stress,” she said. “If you learn ways to cope, you can manage.”

Robinson applied in dispatch not knowing what to expect. She had her sights on applying for the FBI and, for now, those plans have shifted. The ability to help is gratifying, she said, and she has no qualms about staying in the background of events. Local news put her face to the baby delivery and recognition she hardly expected from strangers who caught the story aired.

It’s not the attention that keeps Robinson engaged in her 12-hour shifts answering calls and dispatching police and fire response. She enjoys never knowing what the next call will bring and the satisfaction of having the tools—the MPDS—and calming voice to help during an emergency.

“God puts me in the right place at the right times to help,” she said. “I can look back at these two calls and they make all the difference if a day is not going so well.”

The Moore Police & Fire Communications Center has 11 fulltime dispatch position and is part of the 9-1-1 Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, which in conjunction with Oklahoma City operates an enhanced 911 system metrowide.