DAN DISPATCH
The DAN Emergency Hotline provides 24/7 emergency medical assistance to divers worldwide without charge and regardless of DAN membership status. DAN medics and physicians working in shifts across different time zones make this continuous service possible, ensuring that a dive medical expert is always available.
Over the past 44 years the DAN Emergency Hotline has significantly transformed while staying true to its original mission of helping divers in need. A small group of nurses and dive medics initially staffed the hotline with support from on-call doctors. The team has now expanded to more than 40 medics, nurses, and physicians spread across four continents, providing assistance in five languages. To ensure optimal service to the English-speaking dive community across various time zones and overnight, DAN has established dedicated call centers in New Zealand and South Africa.
In July 2024, five years after establishing its New Zealand hotline operations, DAN hosted a medic exchange between its call center in Auckland, New Zealand, and the headquarters in Durham, North Carolina. Two experienced DAN medics, Megan Smith and Leandra Lynn, swapped places, traveling nearly 10,000 miles and adjusting to a 16-hour time difference. Each medic worked for two weeks from the DAN call center on the opposite side of the world. After returning to their home offices, Smith and Lynn shared insights from their experiences, bringing opportunities for improvement in both offices and our collaborative efforts.
© Penyelam Siaga – Q4 2024