People serving in the Public Safety sector are used to acronyms. Codes for various situations, responses, and treatments exist in every department. If you transfer from one department to another, it can almost feel like you have landed in a foreign country. One acronym that everyone is familiar with these days is PTSD-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While many people have heard the term, there is a misconception about what PTSD represents. PTSD is the result of a single or chronic exposure to a traumatic event. This event(s) can range from car accidents, shootings, abuse, rape, or any situation where ...
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Advanced Health & Educations (www.advhealth.com), Vice President of Business Development Mark Lamplugh, was a guest on the very popular Recovery Radio in South Florida. Mark talks about firefighter addiction and his work with the Frontline program (www.frontlinerehab.com) at Advanced Health. Firefighters tend to struggle with substance abuse and traumatic event issues because of the nature of their job. Mark also discuss’s some of his plans for the future, The problems with the opioid epidemic, some if the issues related to the addiction industry and his passion for helping addicts and alcoholics. The Frontline Program (www.frontlinerehab.com) focuses on firefighter addiction and ...
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Addiction is a mental disorder which affects millions of Americans across the nation. Addiction is characterized by a chronic inability to refrain from behavior which is harmful to the addict. The user feels a compulsion to continue engaging in this behavior, despite repeated painful experiences. Often, the addiction, in fact, continues to grow out of control, with the addict taking increasingly greater measures to ensure access to their preferred method of stimulation, and willing to accept more significant risks. In the end, the user often needs to engage in this behavior to feel normal. Although it is possible to be ...
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Frontline’s (www.frontlinerehab.com)Very Own Mark Lamplugh kicks off his first show of “Firefighter Wellness Radio” for Fire Engineering Blog Talk. Mark Lamplugh is a fourth-generation firefighter and former captain with the Lower Chichester (PA) Fire Company. He was the Chief Executive Officer of 360 Wellness Inc. (http://www.360wellness.org/) and is currently the Vice President with Advanced Health & Education (www.advhealth.com) and their Frontline Program (www.frontlinerehab.com). Lamplugh is also nationally recognized in Crisis Stress Intervention through the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. He has helped hundreds of firefighters, police officers, veterans, EMS personnel, and civilians nationwide find help for addiction, alcoholism, PTSD, and ...
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Mark Lamplugh and Terry Cronin were guests on Army WTF radio with host Redleg and discussed issues of addiction and PTSD. Mark and Terry also talked about the Frontline program at Sprout Health Groups New Jersey location Advanced Health & Education. Mark and Terry talk about the prevalence of these issues with Army, other military branches along with Police, Fire, and EMS. You can see the original broadcast and find the links for the different services available in the links below. If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction issue it’s imperative you reach out for help. ...
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A 2005 case involving paramedic Michael Carey illustrated what can go wrong when a person who has dedicated their lives to helping others is overcome by the twisted logic of addiction. Arriving on the scene of a horrific car crash, Carey, cash-strapped and high on the anti-anxiety drug Librium, frisked an unconscious woman as she lay bleeding on the ground. He stole $6,100 – money the victim, Cleotilda Maria Arroyo, was saving to buy a home in Mexico. Carey needed the money. He had bills to pay. His addiction to alcohol and drugs had drained his finances to the point ...
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By: La Mesa Police Captain (ret) Dan S. Willis What was the worst call you have ever been on? How many different ways did that call and so many others adversely affect your health and wellness, your relationships at home, how you perceive your job and the community, and the quality of your life? Could you have been better prepared before and after, to more constructively process the acute stress and trauma of a professional firefighter? Consistently being immersed in death, tragedies, danger, heartache, and suffering can often scar the spirit of any first responder – particularly firefighters and EMT ...
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As a fourth generation firefighter, I was practically raised in a firehouse. The firehouse was and will always be one big family. There is a code and a bond that all firefighters live for each day. We run towards danger. We save lives. We are invincible. Except we are not invincible. The physical and emotional demands that we put ourselves thru bring a toll. Ignoring this problem is like allowing a forest fire to burn unattended. It is only going to get worse. It’s time we adopt a culture that makes it okay for a firefighter to ask for help. ...
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At bars, restaurants and homes across America, many adults enjoy alcoholic beverages responsibly. However, there are those for whom drinking becomes a deadly addiction that sours personal and professional relationships and endangers lives. It’s no small number, either – according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, nearly 18 million adults have an alcohol use disorder. Firefighters are disproportionately affected. Among the 112 career firefighters surveyed in the study “Sleep Problems, Depression, Substance Use, Social Bonding, and Quality of Life in Professional Firefighters,” 80% used alcohol (averaging about one to two drinks per day), 56% binge drank (four or more ...
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It may be surprising to learn that firefighting makes the top ten list of jobs that provides a good life/work balance. According to Glassdoor, a jobs and recruiting site, their 2014 report shows that firefighting ranks just under occupations like a group fitness instructor, user experience designer, and corporate communications as one of the jobs that provides the best work/life balance. By contrast, just one year later, firefighting doesn’t even make the top 25 Glassdoor occupations for work/life balance in 2015. The discrepancy from one year to the next may have something to do with the fact that firefighting does ...
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