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SIOUX CITY | The first pager was patented in 1949 for New York City doctors to stay in contact with the hospital. Countless "paging doctor" messages later, emergency workers are about the only people left still using beepers on a regular basis. But maybe not for long.

"I foresee within two years, we won't be carrying pagers anymore," said Brenda Gabel, senior telecommunications technician at Mercy Medical Center Sioux City, where 650 pagers were used as recently as 2008. "We'll be carrying smart phones instead."

These are humbling times for the trusty pager -- once a status symbol and safety net in an era of answering machines and pay phones. Sales plummeted as cell phones became affordable, of course, and now it's possible to buy a pager on eBay for next to nothing.

But there were holdouts, mainly first responders who need a reliable device to receive emergency calls quickly on a dedicated network.

The Sergeant Bluff Fire Department still has about 40 pagers for crew members. Each pager costs $500.

While some firefighters are using their cell phones more to respond to calls, pagers still maintain one key advantage, said fire Chief Anthony Gaul. Pagers can monitor updates being radioed by the dispatch center.