In Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, there is a group of people who are busy drawing maps around. They are not workers on geography, but dispatchers(调度员) on Emergency(急救) Center of the city.
Since 2007, the dispatchers in the center have been drawing maps of the local areas.
"A dispatcher's job is counted in seconds," says Liang Ruimei, a dispatcher in the center. She has been working in the center since it started in 2007. "We must answer the phone in 3 seconds, get clear information about the patient in 60 seconds and dispatch(调度) emergency medical workers in 3 minutes at most. If we save one second, the patient may have a better chance to live."
Although nowadays the center has electronic maps, the dispatchers still walk through the streets to draw maps by hand.
After many years' hard work, the dispatchers keep every building and street of the city in mind. They even know whether or not a car can enter the gate of a building. Sometimes the caller can't tell clearly where he is, but it doesn't matter. As long as he describes the buildings around, the dispatcher can dispatch emergency medical workers to him.
"We are trying to be quicker than Death," says Liang.
