Trauma on the job: Program in works to help first responders cope
A few days after a 15-year-old boy was struck and killed by a vehicle in the city of Washington while riding a dirt bike, Natalie Ross, CEO of Healing Bridges, received a phone call.
The call was from a distraught EMS worker who had responded to the April 14 accident, which happened in front of the Healing Bridges offices.
鈥淭he EMS worker on that call was looking to get help for the trauma from working at that incident,鈥 said Ross.
That got Ross thinking. What if there was a program that helped first responders in Washington County deal with the devastating incidents they encounter on the job every day that can negatively impact their mental health?
The solution: Healing Bridges, with a team of first responders and public safety officials, formed a 鈥淩esponders First Initiative,鈥 a committee that is working to create a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team for Washington County.
CISM teams are made up of volunteers that include trained peers 鈥 active or retired first responders who have a first-hand understanding of what their fellow first responders go through 鈥 and trained mental health professionals.
They help first responders manage and recover from the stress of their jobs through a range of interventions, including on-scene support at an incident, debriefings, peer counseling after the incident, and assessments to determine the need for additional services.
In a job where they often detach their feelings from their work in order to respond, discussing the traumas that paramedics, police, firefighters, and 911 dispatchers experience on a sometimes daily basis doesn鈥檛 come easily, Ross said.
And whether or not those in emergency services want to talk about mental health, studies show those traumas take a toll: First responders face higher rates of depression, anxiety and burnout compared to the general population.
One in four first responders suffer from depression, 34% are at risk of suicide, 30% to 40% suffer from substance or alcohol abuse, and police and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than die in the line of duty.
鈥淲e put on emotional armor,鈥 said Deputy Elizabeth Davidson of the Washington County Sheriff鈥檚 Office, who is part of the Responders First Initiative. 鈥淵ou have to do that when you鈥檙e walking into a house and there鈥檚 domestic violence, or you have to do that when there鈥檚 a fire, or when there鈥檚 an accident with children involved. And that emotional armor just becomes very difficult to take off. So 鈥業鈥檓 fine鈥 oftentimes becomes a statement that is used all the time, even when you鈥檙e not. And so we think we have to be tough all the time, and to show any kind of weakness is taboo. But this job is hard, and I think that having places to say 鈥業t鈥檚 OK not to be OK鈥 and we can talk about those things is important.鈥
The CISM program helps first responders break the stigma surrounding mental health by pushing back on the notion that asking for help is a sign of weakness.
Chartiers Township Fire Chief Rob Fetty, a longtime firefighter and a church pastor, encourages firefighters to talk about job-related stress and trauma.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a vicious culture where, for so many years, we鈥檝e been told, 鈥楽uck it up kid, you鈥檒l be OK,鈥 but we can鈥檛 continue to live on the edge and not deal with things. And I tell my firefighters to go to counseling,鈥 said Fetty.
Fetty was hit particularly hard by the death of a 3-month-old two years ago, and has since sought counseling.
鈥淚鈥檓 not ashamed to tell my guys and women that I鈥檓 going to counseling. If I can鈥檛 help myself, how can I help them? We can either get the help we need, or we suffer.鈥
At an October training and outreach event hosted by Healing Bridges and the Washington County Department of Public Safety, nearly three dozen first responders turned out.
Dr. Sheila Roth, a Washington County native and a social worker who counsels first responders, and Deputy State Fire Commissioner J.C. Tedorski spoke with first responders about the challenges of their jobs.
鈥(CISM programs) are so important because first responders encounter frequent trauma, both emotional and physical,鈥 said Roth in a phone interview. 鈥淭hey work very hard, and when you鈥檙e in a smaller department it鈥檚 all hands on deck and you get a lot more cumulative trauma. My hope is that they can continue to do the good work that they do and that they can get the support they need to not let this type of job make them have emotional and physical difficulties down the road.鈥
The Responders First Initiative team is seeking grant funding and/or other funding for the program鈥檚 initial $170,000 costs, along with additional continued training expenses.
Sheila Renz serves as the public relations manager for Canton Township鈥檚 emergency management and is a member of the Responders First Initiative.
鈥淲hen I was approached about CISM, I said absolutely yes, let鈥檚 do this,鈥 said Renz. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 put our responders first, there won鈥檛 be any responders left. They鈥檙e successfully suiciding, they鈥檙e turning to addictions to try to calm themselves, there are volunteer firefighters who are quitting their other jobs. These are people who go into community service because they want to help others. They鈥檙e doing the crazy things that nobody else wants to do 鈥 they鈥檙e running into the burning building, they鈥檙e responding to the domestic violence calls and they鈥檙e seeing horrors that we don鈥檛 want to see but we don鈥檛 want them to talk about either. They are so very affected.鈥
Fetty has been on the receiving end of the support a CISM program provides 鈥 an Allegheny County CISM team responded following the infant鈥檚 death 鈥 and believes that a CISM program will make it more likely that first responders seek help and take better care of their mental health.
Fetty said that while he has been around death and accidents hundreds of times in his years in firefighting, it takes a toll. He has been shaken by the recent passing of a woman who choked to death, and while off-duty he helped provide aid to a youth who was stabbed at a football game at Ringgold High School.
鈥淭hat broke me, 鈥 said Fetty. 鈥淚 feel this is a calling, we do this because we want to do it. But if you鈥檙e getting burned out and getting PTSD and other things, it鈥檚 not sustainable.鈥
Davidson said the CISM program can help those affected deal with an immediate situation and then get additional help they need from professionals.
鈥淭he weight of our jobs can be crushing,鈥 said Davidson. 鈥淲hat we want to do is find a way for first responders to get through this and make it less heavy.鈥