Local EMS union prioritizes mentalhealth resources for first responders
‘[It’s] been a silent monster in the background over the years that everybody's ignored and it's coming to light now’
HAYS COUNTY –
Paramedics, EMTs, law enforcement agencies, firefighters and other first responders are the first at the scene of emergencies. Lifethreatening situations and high-stress environments have become the normal routine for many of them, causing a need for more access to mental health resources.
The Hays County EMS Association (HCEMSA), a local union that has been in the process of collective bargaining negotiations with San Marcos Hays County EMS for the past year, has been working to do more for its unsung heroes.
On Wednesday, Aug. 7, the union signed a standalone memorandum of agreement (MOA) — which went into effect immediately — that will expand access to mental health resources for the medics.
The MOA is in honor of coworker turned friend, Hayden Henshaw, who died four and a half years ago, according to HCEMSA President Zack Phillips.
“[He] took his own life shortly after departing from the company. One of the things we wanted was that push for the expansion of mental health services and got a peer support team that kind of formed around that. As far as with our negotiations, we were able to expand our peer support and our licensed therapist that the company provides for a period of up to 180 days postemployment, regardless of the terms of separation,” Phillips said. “That's something that we thought was very monumental in getting that expanded services past the date of employment. Just because you stopped working somewhere, those traumas don't necessarily stop immediately.”
The agreement also gives medics some timeout periods following traumatic calls, so that the peer support team can institute separate mental debriefs, Phillips said. This can also conclude with that employee going home for the day, if the mental health peer support group suggests that as the best outcome for that individual person.
This type of agreement is crucial for the mental health of first responders, according to Phillips. More than 80% of first responders experience traumatic events on the job, according to an article shared by ScienceDirect, and because they face challenging and dangerous situations, first responders are at a high risk of developing PTSD as a workrelated injury or condition.
Roughly 1 in 3 first responders develop PTSD, compared to the 1 in 5 people in the general population, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
“Medics are 139% more likely to die by suicide than the general population. [It’s] been a silent monster in the background over the years that everybody's ignored and it's coming to light now,” Phillips said. “Everybody's rallying behind. It's real. Let's take care of it. Mental health is something that needs to be on the forefront. These things are affecting people greatly.”
These employees are able to participate in a peer support group, which includes other people who work in the same field that are licensed and certified through the therapist that is on contract, the union president explained.
“These are peer support liaisons you can talk to, so you contact one of them or after these traumatic calls, they do have a way of any of the calls that look like they may be something that, you know, you want to talk to somebody.
Something involving children or mass traumas, they're going to reach out to you ahead of time and say, ‘Hey, man, saw what you ran. Do you need to talk to anybody?’ And that's kind of how those services get started and then they can be expanded at the suggestion of them as well,” Phillips said.
Those who may not feel comfortable talking to a coworker or who wish to talk directly to the contracted therapist, Dr. Tanya Glen, who specializes in first responder traumas and PTSD, has that option, as well.
Both the peer support group and contracted therapist services are at no cost to the medics.
Knowing that the priority of mental health is not subject to Hays County alone, Phillips said that he hopes this agreement will also help other agencies.
“It's one of the things where you lead by example. The more you talk about it, the more information is out there [and] the more likely people are to see this stuff. It's on the forefront of everybody right now. Industry wide, everybody's talking about it. It's the new thing that's killing our first responders,” he said.
“We recognized the cancer in firefighters over the last couple of decades and now, mental health is where the focus is.
Hopefully, we're able to lead by example and share this with everybody that we can.”
To learn more about HCEMSA, visit bit.ly/3YURYh1.
