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MUSKOGEE, OK – Muskogee County Emergency Medical Services use coaches to help their employees handle the stress of an average 1,800 calls per month.
uskogee County EMS is in its second year of its COACHES program — meant to aid employees stressed by critical incidents.
It’s taught Emergency Medical Technicians “It’s OK to Cry.”
A seasoned group of EMTs volunteered to mentor those who could use their help, said Special Projects Coordinator and COACHES Team Leader Mike McWilliams.
He was given permission to design the program, which is in its second year of operation. He researched how the Special Forces debriefed men after a traumatic, critical incident. He talked with councilors who were helped out after the Oklahoma City bombing.
Nick Arnett has been part of the Bay Area CISM Team since 2005, has led or help lead dozens of defusings and debriefings for first responders, schools and communities, including the Haiti earthquake, and assists in CISM training and events. He was a paramedic in the Pittsburgh, Pa. area in the late 1970s and 1980s, where he also headed the volunteer program for the