Show Me the Money: The Business Case for Safety and Wellness in EMS

Step 1 is to put in place a dedicated risk and safety officer. This individual’s job is to ensure the safety, training, wellness and resiliency culture is firmly in place. Their job is as much a coach as it is compliance, daily interaction with the crews, establishing an open and ‘just’ reporting system free from retribution are all critical components of their job.

Step 2 includes building the framework for your safety and wellness culture.

A. All pre-hire employment candidates must take and pass a nationally validated EMS specific physical abilities test. We need to establish a fitness standard as it lays the groundwork for your wellness culture/

B. Pre-hire candidates need to take an EMS specific psychological evaluation to ensure that that can function in your safety culture and have the key resiliency characteristics needed to survive the job.