Peer Support and Wellness Coordinator Superior North EMS Shuniah , Ontario
Description: Many EMS and Fire departments are considering creating, or have recently implemented, a peer support team. Peer support is an evidence-based best practice as a first step toward employees accessing the professional mental health care they need, and while certain elements of peer support are defined by state law, in practice they can vary wildly. Jonathan Woodbeck will highlight the successes and challenges faced by Superior North EMS (Thunder Bay, ON) as they sought to reimagine what a peer support program looks like, incorporating proactive and reactive measures, as well as critical incident response processes. Armed with qualitative and quantitative data, see how Superior North EMS increased the number of meaningful interactions among their employees and learn how to incorporate some of their lessons learned into your own wellness programming.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to audit their current wellness and peer support programming to determine where successes, gaps, and opportunities for improvement exist.
Upon completion, participants will understand the presenter’s experience in creating a proactive peer support and wellness program and compare the similarities and discrepancies between their own department’s operating procedures.
Upon completion, participants will be able to determine next steps to bring back to their agency to move toward a model of a holistic, proactive peer support and wellness program.
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