Charles Thompson
pennlive.com
（MCT）
成为第一响应者不是为了胆小的人。从来没有。
那些以这种身份服务的人经常正在处理创伤事件。有时，他们被迫应对人类可以采取的一些最糟糕的行动的后果。
But in Cumberland County the work may just have gotten, if not exactly kinder and gentler, maybe a little more empathetic.
That’s due to the First Responder Assistance Network, a new county-funded program intended to provide occupation-specific, professional counseling and therapy to all police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and dispatch center workers who – after a particularly bad situation, or an accumulation of bad situations – signal that they need someone to lean on for a bit.
The new program is an outgrowth of a volunteer-based Critical Incident Stress Management Team begun in 2018.
There, peer group members have been trained in active listening and trying to help their colleagues work through their struggles by relating to them. The new assistance network is an extension of that for those who need professional help, said 911 Supervisor and CISM Team manager Michael Snyder.
The Cumberland program, which is eligible on a free and confidential basis to all volunteer or professional first responders, is being offered through State College-based first responder counseling service “On The Job And Off,” which has specifically educated counselors on the ins and out of the emergency services practices.
例如，例如让某人死在您的怀里，充满恐惧意味着什么？还是在火灾现场发现小孩的尸体？当同事在职责范围内被杀死时怎么办？
很明显，这些事情是真实的。
在周二的推出,参加了by police chiefs, EMTs, fire chiefs and others, the group was asked how many of them knew a colleague who had left the field primarily because they had seen enough of this kind of trauma, and found themselves unable or unwilling to put themselves in the position of having to process any more.
Almost everyone present raised their hand.
斯奈德（Snyder）解释说，作为调度员，他的工作“有点像看电视节目，您只能在中间观看五分钟。您真的不知道到底是什么，而且您常常找不到最后发生的事情。但是您非常参与中部部分，有时我们的大脑不喜欢这种类型的互动。
“We like for things to make sense, and if you don’t have something that makes sense sometimes you try to fill in the blanks: ‘Why did this happen?’ What could I do different?’ And those types of situations that occur day after day, week after week, month after month, can be very difficult for our staff to deal with… They provide stress that we really need to help them manage.”
但这是一个问题，直到最近才受到很多直接关注。
“当我在2008年成为EMT时，我认为教科书中有一段像压力很大。就是这样。“我们非常擅长展示并在每个电话中做我们必须做的事情。我们可以告诉您我们携带的所有设备。如何将其拆开，清洁，将其放回原处……。但是培训在那里结束。”
第一响应者协助计划提供了可能涉及各种问题的支持，包括压力，抑郁，焦虑，悲伤，饮食失调，赌博，赌博，吸毒等。它还包括危机干预和针对部门的团体汇报以及通往住院心理健康或药物使用治疗的清晰途径。
The county has entered into a five-year contract for services with Rothrock’s firm that provides 300 hours of clinical service at a base cost of $49,320; additional services would be charged on an hourly rate as needed.
参与的急救人员将通过现有的点对点咨询计划逐案转让该计划。
Snyder praised the county commissioners for agreeing to this enhancement of the existing program, which he said is a huge benefit in a county as diverse as Cumberland.
“The last thing that we wanted to see happen was some first responders have access to it (counseling help) if they’re from maybe a more affluent community, and some first responders not have access to it if they’re from a community that’s a little bit smaller and doesn’t have the financial resources,” Snyder said.
County Public Safety Director Robert Shively Jr. said he’s hopeful the new service will pay dividends for all county residents by keeping more first responders in the field and at their best.
“I’m really hoping that it helps with retention… and trying again to protect our current responders and do what we can to make sure they don’t burn out and lose them through calls,” he said.
Snyder agreed.
“All the agencies are having difficulty with labor just like most businesses these days. So, things that we can do to retain the people that are already on board and already trained and already know their communities are very, very worthwhile and very cost-effective.”
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