GLADSTONE, Mo. — While 911 is a critical service, most people never want to have to call.
"I have a heart condition," said Mary Macdonald, a Gladstone resident. "I have congestive heart failure, so if my pacemaker ever stopped or anything like that happened, I would want them to quickly respond to me."
Responding quickly to similar emergencies is something Kelsey Weaver had experience with before becoming a dispatcher.
"I was working in the medical field and wanted to branch out," Weaver said.
She's among the first group of dispatchers to work out of a newly renovated and combined call center at the Gladstone Police Department.
The move happened for the Clay County Sheriff's Office and Liberty Police Department after years of planning and decades of discussion.
"If it's a big call like a shooting of sorts, the county will respond to help takeover since we have so many resources," Weaver said. "It's helpful to be able to get the information and be able to talk across the room."
Liberty, Gladstone and the sheriff's department, which covers the unincorporated areas of Clay County, are still independent.
The difference is they're saving some taxpayer dollars together.
"It's a pulling of resources," said Rob Sanderson, the administrative services director for Gladstone Police Department. "An example is a critical piece of equipment we have that manages our radio links is $90,000 to taxpayers. Since we're in the same center sharing the same links, it's a third of that to our taxpayers."
What impressed Macdonald about the call center is in a crisis, she's not questioning if agencies have what they need to get there and get there quickly.
"I don't ever think about those things until you need them," she said.
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