Sometimes Even Heroes Need Assistance
Peer Support Team helps in times of stress
New York City
Members of New York's Emergency Medical Service (EMS) are ready to respond to medical crises 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Every call is different, every situation could be life-threatening. Childbirth. Murders. Overdoses. Car accidents. Gang warfare. Heart attacks.
Regardless of the emergency, the EMS workers who are members of AFSCME Local 2507 (Council 37) are expected to respond quickly and professionally. They are urban heroes.
"If you're in the field, you don't know if it's someone who scratched their finger or someone who's having a heart attack," said Lt. Sophia Kwok. "You respond to every call as if it's a heart attack."
It's because of these everyday-and sometimes overwhelming-stresses that Local 2507 negotiated with the city to develop a "Peer Support Team." Composed of volunteers who are also emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or paramedics, the team's role is to listen to and provide support for workers experiencing on- and off-the-job difficulties.
A worker might be having problems with an ambulance partner-which could fester over time. There could be problems from home-a death, divorce or illness. Or a particular call may be emotionally devastating. The Peer Support Team gives worker-to-worker support like a big extended family. It also provides an emotional safety valve for EMS workers who fear repercussions-including being declared unfit for duty-if they use the city's employee assistance program (EAP) or other services.
"A lot of people want to be 'tough guys,'" said city Public Information Officer David Billig, an EMT who worked in the field for eight years before moving into his current position. "We had a rash of suicides-six in a year. One of the reasons was there was no place you could go where you could talk to someone who knew what you do, why you do it and what you experience on the job."
Suffering in silence. Paramedic Roxanne Gunthorpe, a Peer Support Team member, knows how it feels to suffer in silence.
"It was a nice quiet Sunday, and, all of a sudden, we got a call. A woman face down on the ground-wedged between a church and a chainlink fence. I got the feeling she was dead. We had to pull her out. She had a massive head injury. She was a neighbor from my building. She had been beaten because she didn't have any money."
The event haunted Gunthorpe for years, but she kept it to herself because she was sure no one would understand. When Local 2507 sent out letters seeking members for the Peer Support Team, she quickly volunteered.
"I knew from being on the job that we had to have better ways to deal with our stress," she said.
Finally, during the week-long training for team volunteers, Gunthorpe was able to confront her feelings as part of a therapeutic training exercise.
Team member Stephenson McCoy, also had a personal reason for getting involved. "I had a buddy. He was one of the individuals who committed suicide," he said. McCoy also brings his experience with the military's buddy system to the program. That background made the Peer Support Team seem like a natural. McCoy takes a very personal interest in co-workers who call him-sometimes even accompanying them if they decide to use professional resources like the EAP or a health care provider.
Team members agree that much of the job stress comes from an adversarial relationship with management.
"You finish a cardiac arrest, a gunshot or a sick call," said Paramedic John Emiliani. "Management doesn't say, 'Whoa. You've had a tough one. Take a breath.'" The pace rarely slows down.
Within the first six months of operation, EMS workers used the Peer Support Team more than 45 times, according to official statistics. But there's no way to document the impact team members have in daily interactions with their co-workers.
When the going gets tough for New York's EMS workers, the tough finally have someplace to go.
By Susan Ellen Holleran
How the Program Works
Eighteen members of the Peer Support Team work throughout the city's five boroughs. The team members, who are all volunteers, have taken part in a comprehensive training program and ongoing training at monthly meetings.
Local 2507 and team members spread the word about the program by distributing brochures where EMTs and paramedics work and by discussing the program with co-workers.
EMS staff can call any team member to discuss any personal or work-related problem. The team member may provide a "listening ear" or encourage the worker to go for professional help.
All communications are strictly confidential.
