While protecting and serving your community as a first responder is uniquely rewarding, it also comes with a host of factors that impact mental, emotional and physical health. The schedules alone make it difficult to fit in exercise, healthy meal planning and adequate rest for recharging. Add in intense and traumatic calls and it’s a recipe for sleepless nights and atypical stress.
As such, it’s crucial for employers to prioritize the mental health of their first responder employees by providing wellness initiatives and resources to support their overall wellbeing. By taking a look at what agencies are doing to support members, we can better understand the current state of mental health support for first responders and to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for employers to better support their employees’ mental health needs.
Resources for agencys to improve wellness
Download the wellness assessment below and see how your agency stacks up. If your agency doesn’t make the grade, check out these resources for adding more wellness support to your agency:
Make the investment in your people Tips from Boston EMS for starting a health and wellness program to support member resiliency
On-demand Webinar: Fatigue in EMS Measuring the prevalence and efficacy of fatigue management initiatives
Tactical napping: An EMS bedtime story What public safety can learn from the U.S. Army’s doctrine on readiness
How RAA launched a peer support program Resiliency training and a CISM program laid a foundation for the Richmond Ambulance Authority to support its providers’ mental health
6 steps to adding a therapy dog to your organization The benefits are clear, but where to start? Learn how to find, fund and implement a therapy dog program, and download a fillable caretaking schedule
Resources for personnel to track wellness
6 essential ingredients for resilience How does your resilience measure up?
New beginnings: Anytime resolutions Download a daily habit tracker to kick off your journey
How to start a food log to support your health To track your nutrition, you need to see what, when and how much you actually eat
Sleep prep checklist for first responders Simple steps to help optimize sleep quality even when you can’t get the recommended number of hours
Fill out the form on this page to download a wellness assessment to see how your agency stacks up.
