My personal encounter last week reminded me that our EMS folks are out there every day facing adversity, trauma and suffering on a large scale and, I fear, sometimes, without the support they so much deserve. Whether it is being involved in a major call or the cumulative effect of shift after shift of back to back calls, their emotional support is of great importance to our Team.
Our “Firefighter” Support Team began as a response to a terrible tragedy in 2007 involving the loss of nine good men in the Sofa Super Store fire so, hence the name as it is. But, make no mistake, the welfare of our EMS brothers and sisters continues to be a major priority to us. We, as firefighters, spend countless hours working side by side with our paramedics and EMTs and they are a huge part of our lives and the support system that is in place for us. As I think back over the years, I am reminded of how often they have “had our backs” and I’m not sure we have ever acknowledged it enough. We recognize the unique culture of the EMS profession but, quite frankly, we stand as one more often than not.
Our Team has grown over the last almost eight years now, and our Team clinicians, Amanda Custer and Sarah Braswell, now anchor an expanded clinical program, the “Public Safety Behavioral Health Assistance Program”, in place to continue to assist our firefighters and their families as well as our EMS and law enforcement personnel. While we work in separate locations now, Amanda and Sarah remain our Team’s primary clinical resource. We are also blessed to have established relationships with other clinicians and therapists in the community to enable us to provide needed services to all of our first responders, be it firefighters, EMS or law enforcement personnel.
So, to our EMS and law enforcement friends, please let us know if we can be of any assistance to you or your families. We have some unique resources that can be made available by the asking and we would be honored to provide them.
Gerald Mishoe