2016 was a year marked with too many tragedies for Desiree Partain and her family as they felt the grave impact of being affected by suicide. Devastation ignited a passion for Partain, questioning what more could be done to address mental health and suicide prevention for those close to her, especially the co-workers she valued from her 20 years working in emergency services.
Beginning as a paramedic on the ambulance team (and continuing as a paramedic today), Partain joined MedStar Mobile Healthcare (Texas, USA) in 2009 and now works as a Transformation Manager. Her experience in the emergency field has motivated her to strive to make an impact in a devastating trend of loss.
“We know more first responders are dying by their own hands than at the hands of another or in the line of duty,” Partain said. “Somebody has to do something about that.”
Though Partain recognized that the topics of mental health and wellness have been highlighted with far more coverage in recent years, she felt frustrated by how little meaning that provided for those impacted. “Okay, we’re talking about it now, but what are we doing for our people?”
Hope Squad origins
As if an answer to her question, Partain was inspired when she attended a luncheon with Dr. Gregory Hudnall as the keynote speaker. Hudnall, a former high school principal and associate superintendent with the Provo City School District (Utah, USA), had spent the last 25 years working in suicide prevention. Among multiple avenues of community outreach, he founded a school-based program, Hope Squad, which is now incorporated into 700 schools around the world.1
Partain immediately recognized the unique framework for Hudnall’s program was the selection process for nominating trusted peers based off a simple question: “Who can you turn to on a bad day?”
Certain names were shared with high frequency by the surveyed school population, so those students were nominated and invited to be trained as a team peer support. Those who accepted were taught to recognize suicide warning signs, encouraged to speak up for someone who is struggling, and guided to ask the hard questions to help others on their mental health journey.
After contemplating the simplicity and effectiveness of the program, Partain was convinced. “This is it,” she said. “I need to bring this to MedStar.”
Comm. center application
A year later, Hudnall came to MedStar to provide training on how the Hope Squad could be applied to its first corporate environment and its first application to emergency services. MedStar created an altered model and put their leadership through a two-day training course before beginning the process to survey everyone in the organization.
Just as Hudnall described, certain names rose to the top, commonly recognized by their peers as offering a trusted and listening ear. While considering nominations, the MedStar administration had to factor in equal representation from all departments, depending on shifts and facets of operation (comm. center vs. response crews), though they maintained the integrity of the selection process.
Nominated personnel were invited to formally apply, entering an interview process to discuss expectations and make an educated commitment to help lead the Hope Squad program. Those selected participated in an eight-hour peer support training covering a wide range of topics: suicide prevention, mental health, critical incidents, debriefing, and a strong emphasis on wellness and resilience.
“These peer leaders are the eyes and ears for their peers,” Partain said. “They had to sign a wellness contract stating that they are going to take good care of themselves to be on this team.”
Both commitment and confidentiality are part of the Hope Squad’s success. “We know that a huge part of mental health is stigma,” Partain said. “People in this field sometimes avoid seeking help because they fear being fired or limited in their careers if they are seen as struggling, so we cannot breach that confidentiality.”
The official mission statement of the Hope Squad is to provide trustworthy support to the MedStar team through proactive education, early identification, intervention, and appropriate resource navigation. This is achieved through the participation of caring co-workers. Hope Squad members display emblems on their uniforms or at their console to help their peers recognize who they can confide in, beginning with a casual conversation.
“Often it just comes down to expressing compassion and care,” Partain said. “Sometimes people just need to hear ‘I’m sorry that you’re struggling, and I’m here for you.’”
Culture shift
The MedStar Hope Squad, comprised of about 30 members, meets at least quarterly to build strong connections, inquire about trends among each team, and reinforce how to work with co-workers in crisis. Often, they address the undertones of how people are feeling, sharing concerns or warning signs, and responding to difficult events in people’s personal lives: “What are people stressing about?” “Who needs our help?” and “What can we do as a team to address some of these issues?”
Following the implementation of the Hope Squad, Partain has seen a transformation of the organization’s culture into one that encourages checking in and taking care of one another, even beyond those trained as peer support members.
Debriefing has become a focus, especially to help shoulder the burden for those exposed to traumatic incidents. Partain receives reports that flag high-intensity calls (such as pediatric calls) for her to check in, but it’s often the communication center staff reaching out to her first.
“I don’t think people understand the vital role dispatchers play in the peer support element to mental health,” Partain said. “I had a dispatcher text me, saying ‘Hey this person ran a bad call, and she said she was okay, but I feel like she’s not.’” Others have notified Partain when they realize their co-worker’s voice sounds different on the radio.
“When our crews run these critical calls, our dispatchers are looped in on debriefs and check-ins with the local hospital and fire department,” Partain said. “Dispatchers are a core element to the hot zone, and we need to advocate for them to be part of the healing process.”
That process may look different for every center or every person, but methods include creating opportunities for peer-to-peer interactions, allowing breaks such as pulling dispatchers off the phones for a time, referring personnel to valuable resources like counseling or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, and prioritizing the need to heal from recent or reoccurring traumas.
“We’re all just human beings dealing with life’s stresses, but working in the emergency services also means taking on the responsibility of caring for people in critical need,” Partain said. “You can’t recognize meaning or fulfillment in that without taking good care of yourself.”
Source
1. “Dr. Gregory A. Hudnall.” Cold Case Foundation. https://www.coldcasefoundation.org/gregory-hudnall.html (accessed April 23, 2024).
