New Executive Director chosen
for West Suburban Consolidate Dispatch Center

The former director of police and fire emergency communications for the City of Elgin has been named executive director of the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center (WSCDC), which dispatches emergency response personnel for 9-1-1 calls from residents in Elmwood Park, Oak Park and River Forest.

Henry F. Gralak of Chicago was selected by Elmwood Park Village Manager John "Jay" Dalicandro, Oak Park Village Manager Tom Barwin and River Forest Village Administrator Steven V. Gutierrez, who serve as the board of directors for the dispatch center their communities share. His first day on the job will be Mon., Jan. 5.

In a joint statement announcing the selection of Gralak, the members of the WSCDC Board of Directors said, "We are pleased to name Henry Gralak as the new executive director of the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center. His qualifications and experience make him an ideal match
for the duties of executive director of the high-tech communications operation that is vital to public safety in
our communities."

As director of police and fire emergency communications
in Elgin, Gralak managed the dispatch operations for a community of more than 120,000 residents spread across a 25-square-mile area. He also has an extensive background in technology services and law enforcement. He is a graduate
of Northwestern University and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center, housed
in the River Forest Municipal Complex, 400 Park Ave., was created in 2002 to provide emergency vehicle dispatch services to 9-1-1 callers in Oak Park and River Forest. Elmwood Park joined the center in 2005. The center uses the latest computer-based radio consoles and control equipment available for 9-1-1 communications systems, including the ability to locate a cell phone caller within 100 meters of their location, a key tool when the caller cannot provide this critical information.

Center dispatchers, known officially as telecommunicators, dispatch ambulances, fire fighting equipment and police depending on the nature of the incident. But WSCDC telecommunicators do much more than dispatch emergency response vehicles. Each has been trained to provide emergency medical assistance while help is en route. Instructions telecommunicators provide may range from common sense directions to callers such as turning on a
porch light and unlocking the door, to more specific medical instructions in situations such as stroke, cardiac arrest, breathing problems, bleeding, loss of consciousness or childbirth.