Decompression room provides calm setting for Chicago emergency management workers

CHICAGO (WLS) -- At any given time, there are hundreds of call takers and dispatchers inside Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications. They help Chicagoans on what is often the worst moment of their lives.

"People crying. People screaming. You hears shots in the background," OEMC Asst. Director of 911 Operations Mariann McKeever said.

A call years ago still haunts McKeever.

"The father was imploring his child to be okay and wake up. 'Are you okay?' Hearing that ,and that was probably 10 years ago, and I want to cry," McKeever said.

McKeever is now the assistant director of 911 Operations and showed ABC7 a new feature just outside the 911 center, the decompression room.

"White noise, forest sounds, rain things that can be used to calm and relax. We have variable lighting," McKeever said. "To have a space like this, that you can go into and really feels like you've removed yourself entirely from the situation, is very helpful for those few moments to regroup."

"Even though they are not actively in the stressful situation their body and their mind is experiencing that," OEMC Clinical Therapist Gwen Tsuji-Chevas.

Tsuji-Chevas is among two new therapists with OEMC who were part of a Wellness Fair for employees Thursday. She said having safe spaces with a therapist or in a calm setting can be essential for those constantly dealing with stressful emergencies.

"It's important to take care of themselves because they are taking of the rest of us," Tsuji-Chevas said.

The decompression room was completed a few weeks ago and it is used daily. It's anticipated dispatchers may lean on resources more in the coming weeks as the spend time away from the loved ones over the holidays to take calls from the public.