Dec. 20--WINFIELD, WV-- The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department is inviting Putnam County first responders to participate in resilience training.
Dr. Michael Brumage, executive director and health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, said first responders will be trained in the evidence-based practice of mindfulness.
"This is primarily for police, fire and EMS who are responding to the constant calls that they get from the opioid epidemic and other stressors," he said. "We know that there are people operating on the margins of their capability with stress. It affects not only their professional performance, but it affects their home lives as well."
The two-and-a-half-day retreat-style training will give first responders the opportunity to learn evidence-based stress reduction practices to cope with the demands of their jobs.
Brumage said there were four participants in the first session this fall, and there are 35 spots open for the next training this February. The training, which will take place in Charleston, is open to first responders statewide.
"This isn't just a bunch of PowerPoint slides saying, 'Here's how to take care of yourself.' This is really skills building," he said.
Also at the meeting Tuesday, Brumage told board members that 98 people from Putnam County have participated in the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department's Harm Reduction Clinic between 2016-17.
An additional 64 patients from Putnam County have gone to the clinic at Cabell-Huntington Hospital, according to data from the clinics.
In Hurricane, 28 of 65 clinic patients went to the clinic in Charleston; in Scott Depot, 22 of 28 patients went to the Charleston clinic; in Fraziers Bottom, four of 10 patients; three of six patients went to the Charleston clinic in Buffalo; five of nine patients in Charleston were from Red House; 13 of 13 patients in Charleston were from Winfield; 11 of 19 were from Poca; and six of six total patients were from Liberty. The remaining patients each went to the clinic in Huntington, according to the data.
Along with needle exchanges, the clinics offer recovery coaches, testing services and long-acting reversible contraception, among other services.
The next Putnam County Board of Health meeting will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 in Winfield.
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