Maryland is working to get counselors on staff at 911 centers to help the "first first-responders," for whom the burnout rate is so high.
Working at a 911 center is a difficult job, having to remain calm and collected while handling a call from someone in distress.
Sue Greentree was a 911 specialist in Anne Arundel County for 35 years. In March 2020, she had enough and retired.
"It was oftentimes very demanding. You never know what you're answering," Greentree said. "It was an incredibly rewarding career for me. I loved my job. I just got to the point where it was becoming too emotional for me."
One call Greentree will never forget involved a desperate mom trying to save her daughter's life.
"It was an extraordinarily distraught mother who had come home from work and found her daughter hanging," Greentree said.