一个新项目提供应急人员evidence-based mental health counseling via telemedicine from behavioral health specialists with the创伤和弹性中心在休斯敦的德克萨斯大学健康科学中心（UTHealth).

Weekly counseling through the UTHealth Trauma and Resilience Center’s First Responder Mental Health Treatment Program is funded by the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which recently expanded its federally funded crime victim programs to also serve first responders. First responders include law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and emergency department workers – many of whom have been serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When everyone else runs away from a situation, first responders have to run toward it,” saidRon Acierno, PhD, professor and vice chair for veteran affairs in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and executive director of the UTHealth Trauma and Resilience Center. “The Office of the Attorney General put out a call for mental health services for first responders, and we were one of two or three organizations selected to serve their mental health needs.”

该计划通过远程医疗约会提供一周的咨询时间为期8至15周。专家为各种心理健康问题提供服务，包括创伤后应激障碍，一般焦虑，抑郁，婚姻问题和睡眠问题。

“Telemedicine allows us to meet patients where they are, and tailor our services to suit this population. First responders are often intense and action-oriented, and so is our program. We provide weekly, evidence-based treatment that is problem-focused,” Acierno said.

Another UTHealth program for first responders, the Heroes Helpline, also allows first responders to find help for substance use disorder through a 24/7 hotline. The toll-free helpline, 1-833-EMS-INTX (1-833-367-4689) is part of a clinical research program led byJames Langabeer, PhD, EdD, MBA, and funded in part by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Both Acierno and Langabeer said the collaboration between their teams is critical.

“The Heroes Helpline offers immediate care at all hours, while our counseling is more of a long-term commitment over two to three months,” Acierno said. “A lot of times people don’t want that commitment right off the bat, but calling the helpline gets them thinking about what they might need long-term. The helpline team has made several referrals to our program recently and we’re grateful for the special collaboration to get first responders the comprehensive help they need.”

“It’s imperative to keep our first responders healthy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Langabeer, director of The Center for Health Systems Analytics and professor of emergency medicine and biomedical informatics with McGovern Medical School and the School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth. “Through the Heroes Helpline, we are able to triage calls to help meet the needs of first responders, whether they be medical or behavioral, and connect them with the resources they need. Research shows first responders tend to be more reluctant to seek help because of stigma or fear, so we’re thrilled to provide an option for them to seek treatment without retribution.”

The Department of Emergency Medicine worked closely with the Medtronic Foundation to secure funding for recruiting first responders to mental health care services. The grant will go toward hiring people with emergency medical service (EMS) experience to serve as community liaisons with local first responder agencies.

“Our mission is to deliver the highest quality emergency care to everyone and part of that includes supporting our prehospital partners who are so vital and have been dramatically impacted in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ben Bobrow, MD, chair of Emergency Medicine at McGovern Medical School and the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Distinguished Chair at the school. “This program is an incredible opportunity to help our valiant EMS partners.”

“我们可以悬挂一个带状疱疹，说我们为急救人员提供服务，但这并不能使人们进入门。他们需要一个值得信赖的人来告诉他们这一点。”阿西尔诺说。“博士Bobrow和他的急诊医学团队了解需要心理健康以维持身体健康的需求。”

要联系Uthealth的创伤和弹性中心，以寻求急救人员的每周咨询，请致电713-486-2630。要达到无电话的英雄求助热线，以解决药物滥用障碍，请致电1-833-EMS-INTX（1-833-367-4689）。

UTHealth also offers free, self-paced, onlinetrainingtargeted toward first responders about mental health and substance abuse.

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