July 31, 2017

Healthcare Quarterly‘s summer issue features an in-depth look at the first responders in Las Vegas and how they deal with trauma that occurs on the job. The 6-page spread shared information from police, firefighters and mental health experts. Suicide, substance abuse, anger issues, and heart disease are all symptoms faced when dealing with the traumatic scenes that FR face daily.

“Many of us have been doing this a long time and have exceptional training, but that doesn’t exempt you from trauma or post-traumatic stress” said Mike Courtney, Clark County Firefighter and member of the CCFD Peer Support Team. “This past year there was a nationwide study that showed suicide amongst firefighters has risen above heart disease; this is the first we’ve seen that…We go on calls every day, but certain calls can be more heinous than others. Mass casualties, calls that involve children or child death, dramatic blood and body parts; Certain calls are harder for the mind to wrap around than others.”

First Responders and Trauma, also printed in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, takes a look at what police and fire departments are doing to help their team through the traumatic scenes; it also shares mental & behavioral health resources for first responders including information on the First Responder Lifeline Programs at Desert Hope Treatment Center & Solutions Recovery in Las Vegas.

Read the full issue of the digital version of the magazine here. First responders and trauma: The people responsible for saving our lives face special challenges can be found on pages 34-40.