EMS components at 34 minutes and 105 minutes

During this time of increased stress on our membership, it’s important to keep our peer support services not only operating but growing. I’m excited to announce that we will be offering  Assisting Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention (GRIN) to interested members of Boston EMS. GRIN is the prerequisite course for anyone wishing to work on a Massachusetts Peer Support team. 

The GRIN course will be February 10-13 (day shift, 8-6) at the BPPA Union Hall. The first three days will be Crisis intervention training and the final day will be QPR (suicide prevention) CISM practical and a Peer Support team overview. The overall goal is to continue our teams growth while listening to the feedback we received in March regarding representation and access to services. This will be a voluntary reassignment without overtime. Due to COVID gathering restrictions space is extremely limited. If you have taken GRIN in the past, there is no need to reapply, we will be offering the 4th day of training to any GRIN certified member looking to get involved through a team meeting (dates to follow)

We are committed to inclusion and improving access to all members of our department. We are looking to expand a diverse team in a multitude of ways, providing a peer informed, clinically guided team. A team that will insure clear pathways to services for every member of this department, specifically; EMCO/ Full operator, Paramedic, Newer EMT (less than 10 years) People of color, members of the LGBTQ community, members in recovery (with minimum 2 years sobriety) and/or members that have received services in the past.

This will not be the last offering of this class, normally we run classes of 25 but this go around will be limited. Please do not get discouraged if you’re not chosen, we will place you on a list and facilitate training through the state system or in house when the opportunity arises.

If you’re interested in this opportunity please respond to this email before 2/1/2021. Please note: if you have expressed interest in person/via text please also respond here so I have a clear list of those interested. 

A message from Chief Hooley to the membership:

I am deeply saddened to inform you that EMT Regina Phillips , A 19 days, passed away today. As a member of our Boston EMS family, and friend to many here, I regret having to share this news over email. She will be sincerely missed. Regina’s mother and daughter are in our hearts during this difficult time.

This is a tremendous loss for the department. If you need Peer Support, they remain available at 617-686-6820.

Arrangements will be announced once they are available. 

In Service,
Jim

A message from the BPPA-EMS Executive Board:

It is with a heavy heart that we send this reminder out to all members of BEMS-BPPA. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a tragedy, such as the loss of one of our own, for us to remember that life is short and we never know when our time will come. Below is a critical form that needs to be filled out in order to ensure your family’s security if your time comes unexpectedly. Everyone should print this form, fill it out, and return it to the Union Hall, any Executive Board member, or Representative immediately.

Please keep Regina’s family in your thoughts and prayers, and rest assured that the Union, Department, and City Hall are working together to ensure that they receive LODD benefits. Below is the link to the required form

Fraternally,

BEMS-BPPA Executive Board

https://files.constantcontact.com/593dcaff701/be701eb1-ec97-4d59-ba3f-2e763d52c4e3.pdf

A message from the U.C.E.P Executive Board:

With the devastating loss of Regina we lost not only a coworker, friend, and confidant, but our Sista. U.C.E.P, the Command staff, Union and BEMSRA remain in contact with the Phillips family and will continue to support them. We have remained in contact with Peer support, and will continue to collaborate during this time of loss. Peer support resources are available and if you require services but are not comfortable doing so yourself, please contact Lee Alexander for a confidential referral to a team clinician or a vetted community based clinician.

A message from Peer support:

Clinicians and members of the Peer support team remain available to the membership 24/7 during this difficult time. Remember its okay to not be okay and practice good self care. Peer support can be reached at 617-686-6820. If you choose to not contact a member of the team, clinicians can be directly contacted at PSUclinician@gmail.com for 1 to 1 appointments. An alternate point of contact for services has been established through the executive board of U.C.E.P who identified Lee Alexander as their point of contact. All referrals will remain confidential, requests from U.C.E.P for services will be completed without exchanging demographic information.

When you receive the initial death notification, you may feel immobilized. You may experience feelings of shock, disbelief, and denial as you hear the notification. You are trying to process all of the information that it is being shared with you. You may also have many questions. As you process all of this information, your senses may become more heightened. Many people can remember a traumatic experience clearly with something they have smelled, seen, heard, touched, or tasted. Your heart rate and blood pressure may dramatically increase. There are many emotions that can be experienced during this time including fear, anger, confusion, shame, guilt, and grief. At times, this may feel like an emotional roller coaster. You may feel exhausted and tire easy. It may be helpful to visit a medical professional or peer support clinician if any of these symptoms persist for an extended period of time. Recovering from a traumatic event will take time and may not be easy. Everyone responds differently to trauma. No one is reacting in a right or wrong way—just differently. Don’t expect too much of yourself and of others.

Things to remember:

• Ask questions. You may wonder what type of assistance is available and what will happen next. Find out what will be expected of you in days to come, so you can plan ahead for any new stressful circumstances.
• Delay making major decisions whenever possible. You may think a big change will make you feel better. It may not necessarily ease the pain. Give yourself time to get through the most hectic times and adjust before making decisions that will affect the rest of your life.
• Remember to breathe. Close your eyes and take deep, slow breaths until you feel calm.
• Simplify your life for awhile. Make a list of things that you are responsible for in your life. Then look at your list and see which things are absolutely necessary. Is there anything you can put aside for awhile? Are there things you can let go of completely?
• Take care of your mind and body. Eat healthy food and exercise regularly. Exercise may help improve your mood and help you sleep better too.
• Avoid using alcohol and illegal drugs. These substances may temporarily block the pain, but they will keep you from healing.
• Establish new routines.
• Avoid overtaxing yourself with too much activity.
• Keep the phone number of a good friend nearby to call when you feel overwhelmed or begin to feel a sense of panic.
• Rely on people you trust. Seek information, advice, and help from them.
• Seek professional assistance when needed. Just as there are doctors and nurses who are trained to help heal the body, there are professionals who are trained to help people recover from loss and cope with emotional pain.

Clinicians can be reached at PSUclincian@gmail.com or by calling the team at 617-686-6820

When something outside your control changes your life, it’s what you do with what you can control that really shapes your children.  Dr. Wes Sanders is a U.S. Marine Veteran and a staff psychologist at Home Base. As parents are facing multiple new challenges in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, including school closures, remote work, and self-quarantine measures., Dr. Sanders offers some effective strategies and resources to help your parenting experience less stressful during this time.

Boundaries and Routines

Kids benefit a lot from consistency in the home environment. This creates a sense of predictability. If kids know, for example, that negative behaviors will have the same negative outcomes, then they might be less likely to push those boundaries or push those limits. If they know, for example, that they have a limited amount of screen time and after that screen time is met, then they are no longer able to get more screen time or they might lose screen time for negative behaviors. The more consistent in the follow through with any consequences for negative behavior or for maintaining those screen-time hours, the less likely kids are to push back. It creates a safe and comfortable environment where kids know the limits of their behavior. This all sounds well and good, but in practice is actually quite difficult and maybe even not feasible in the home environment with all that typically goes on.

Trying to create a semblance of normalcy around the routines, having consistent morning routines, consistent bath time routines, consistent evening routines for going to bed. The more consistent these routines happen day after day, the safer the environment is for the child. And also in terms of behavior, kids are less likely to be disruptive or acting out when they know how the routine is going to go day after day. That’s the number one thing, try to stick with a routine that you all can live with for a longterm practice. Then that can create this environment that is more consistent and safer for your kids and ultimately creates less of a headache for parents.

Self-Care

Another practice for parents is really just making sure that you have time for self-care, which might sound like a little bit of an odd idea in a household filled with kids, or with a lot of other obligations that you have on your plate. But self-care is really critical for allowing you to have that space to decompress, to take a breath, to gather yourself, and ultimately to have the resilience to keep up this new routine for the long term. Here is what that might look like:

Virtual playdates with other parents and kids

A virtual social hour, coffee social, a happy hour with other parents or friends

Exercising can be really beneficial. It not only keeps you physically stimulated, but it also helps you mentally to be able to relax and to recover.

Give yourself five minutes to take a break and accept the situation. Anything that you can do to give yourself that mental space is going to be really important, not just for you, but for your ability to be a parent and be there for your kids when they are up and when they are bouncing around the house.

Tag Team

For parents with other parents in the household, being able to tag in or tag out at different times of the day can be essential in balancing all the other obligations that you might have. Having the space to go back and forth between parenting duties can be helpful for both of you to have that space that you need to accomplish all the other obligations you might have in the home.

Exercise and Get Some Fresh Air

Try to get out of the house as much as you can.  If the kids can get outside, burn off some energy, get that outdoor experience, and really for everyone to be able to get outdoors here and there, it’ll really help with the mental health. It’ll help with that feeling of cabin fever, of being cooped up, and it’ll also make it so that folks are less likely to be a little bit cranky in the household.

Get Creative

Being stuck with kids in the home also means finding new things to do and this can be challenging if there aren’t as many activities that you’re used to that are accessible. However, there has been a great response on the internet and through other online communities to make a lot of resources available for kids, such as virtual museum tours, podcast series, live storytelling, and audiobook streaming to name a few. For younger kids, you can get non-toxic bath paint to paint in the bathtub. Maybe there are online music classes or drawing classes that kids can participate in. All of these are different resources that are available for you as parents – take advantage of them and try something new. Click here for additional resources for kids of all ages and different developmental stages.

Final Notes

This is a very stressful time and a very unique time in our country. Not many people have experienced this kind of environment, especially as a parent. It’s a very anxious time for everyone so really make sure you give yourself a break. No one has all the answers – and you as a parent are really the expert on your kids. So be able to acknowledge that you are doing the best you can, give yourself a break, and rely on others for support when you need it.

The first group of 10 is full contact calter@bostonems.org or Ahmad Taha to be added to the list for upcoming groups

We will be meeting with Dr. Sophia Dyer tomorrow regarding the departments response to exposures, our newest DICO staff, how they are conducting contact tracing and what our members can expect if they’re exposed or told to stay home and self isolate. We will also be discussing our members returning to work and the criteria that is used to help ease any concerns. If there are specific questions you would like addressed please comment below or email me at calter@bostonems.org

Thank you for visiting the new Boston EMS Peer Support page. Our goal has always been to assist the membership but now more than ever we needed a different platform to reach the masses. I would like to personally acknowledge the great work you’re all doing not only in the face of this pandemic but everyday. If there are specific topics you’d like covered or questions you’d like answered please comment below or email me at Calter@bostonems.org – I will do my best to find the answer and maybe even get it on a podcast for you. Thank you for your continued commitment to seeing this through, stay safe