| On Saturday, May 16th, members from the Ridge VFD and Ridge VRS completed certification in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) for Fire/EMS. The Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) and Mental Health Association of Maryland (MHAMD) partnered to launch a series of Mental Health First Aid certification courses to first responders, statewide. The 8-hour course is offered to Maryland first responders at no cost through funding provided by the Maryland Department of Health’s Behavioral Health Administration. This partnership helps first responders to continue to be the difference, saving lives one conversation at a time.
Mental Health First Aid Maryland is a public education national certification course designed to teach the skills necessary to respond with care and genuine support to an individual experiencing a mental health or substance use concern or crisis. Mental health problems are common and, with the right help, wellness and recovery are possible.
Through this course, participants:
• Increased their mental health literacy
• Increased their confidence in providing support to someone in distress (patient and/or fellow first responder)
• Increased their knowledge of professional and self-help resources
• Decreased stigma associated with mental health concerns and responses
By successfully completing the 8-hour course, Ridge VFD and Ridge VRS participants received a nationally recognized certification from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (NCMW).
The participants would like to extend a sincere thank you to Mental Health Educator Jevon Billups for his instruction. His expertise and teaching style helped make this sensitive topic easy to understand and practice.
Additionally, we’d like to thank the Ridge VRS for hosting this training and the RVFD Auxiliary for supplying snacks and lunch.
For more information on MHFA certification, please visit:
https://www.mhamd.org/what-we-do/training/mental-health-first-aid-maryland/ |
