Lincoln county emergency medical services EMS training project - with first responders already being at increased risk for burnout, on the job injury and self-harm behaviors, the 2019 coronavirus…

Lincoln county emergency medical services EMS training project - with first responders already being at increased risk for burnout, on the job injury and self-harm behaviors, the 2019 coronavirus pandemic intensifies the need for education on stress, the impact of stress, how IT leads to more debilitating mental health issues and available supports and resources for EMS personnel. Additional education will allow for the continued recruitment of qualified staff and training of current staff for credentialing purposes. Lincoln county emergency medical services (lcems) system seeks to expand the current educational program to meet state and national RE-credentialing requirements for local paramedics and emergency medical technicians (emts) on topics related to behavioral/mental health, toxicology/opioid treatment, psychiatric emergencies, culture of safety, and employee health/wellness. This program expansion would afford lcems system the opportunity to educate personnel to recognize when a patient, peer, or they themselves are struggling with the negative effects of stress, focusing on when and how to link to resources and services in order to maintain optimal wellness. This program would include completion of courses such as naloxone administration for opioid overdose treatment, stress first aid, international critical incident stress foundation supported certifications, a locally developed crisis intervention training model focused on local resource linkage, and other courses related to stress management and samhsas eight dimensions of wellness. Lcems plans to work with area fire and rescue departments to identify and train champions within these ancillary agencies to ensure continuity of the program throughout the lcems system. Lcems would also utilize these educational components to ensure that new hires and new volunteers are trained as a part of their organizational orientation. With the estimation that one in five individuals struggle with mental health issues to a level requiring intervention, this program would seek to successfully link a minimum of 100 first responders during the first year to resources that support optimal wellness and resilience including stress management, behavioral health therapy, nutrition, physical training and fitness, and financial management. The effective development of this program, related policies, procedures, and agency infrastructure will allow lcems to better serve the 80,504 individuals estimated to live in lincoln county by addressing their own health, wellness, and resiliency. The grant implementation team seeks to complete training/certification for both lcems system providers and a group of identified mental health professionals to increase staff access to professionals qualified to treat and support the unique needs of first responders while reducing stigma related with seeking mental health support, enhancing the value of the use of peer support resources offered to employees and volunteers within the lcems system, reducing the number of mental health related absences, developing a plan to address mental health crises among system providers, and improving employee and volunteer retention rates.