First responders with PTSD would be eligible for workers comp under Pa. proposal

Life as a first responder can mean witnessing things that are hard to process.

It can be different for each responder, said Shawn Penzera, director of special operations at Greensburg-based Mutual Aid EMS. Calls involving children or multiple fatalities are typically harder. But maybe an EMT recently experienced the death of a loved one and must process a similar situation while responding to a call.

“Some things just roll off your back, and other things stick with you and you can’t sleep,” Penzera said. “The mental health awareness for first responders in general is really coming to a head.”

House Bill 1632, sponsored by state Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, a Democrat who represents an area near Philadelphia, passed in a 154-46 vote and awaits consideration in the Senate. In a sponsorship memo, she said the law would amend the Worker’s Compensation Act to allow first responder claims related to post-traumatic stress injuries that have been diagnosed by a medical or mental health professional. To qualify, the injury must be related to the first responder’s duties.

Greensburg fire Chief Tom Bell said he strongly supports a state bill approved by the House last week that would make post-traumatic stress injury an eligible claim for first responders who file to receive workers compensation. Bell said he talked with local legislators about the importance of the measure to support the EMS agencies, police and firefighters who respond to emergencies.

“There’s trauma on every call that you go to,” he said.

Claims would have to be filed within three years of the diagnosis. O’Mara said the law would make mental health care more accessible for the people who respond to emergencies.

“First responders are heroes, but they’re not superheroes,” she said in a statement.

Greensburg Fire Department has a supplemental insurance policy for firefighters that allows for coverage of mental health care.

“It just piles up, and you tend to hide that,” Bell said.

Citizens Hose EMS supervisor James Erb agreed. Maybe a call from 30 years ago is still bothering a paramedic, he said.

“There’s a hidden trauma when it comes to those type of calls,” he said.

Ambulance personnel with the Harrison-based agency can do everything they’ve been trained to do and still not be able to save someone’s life, he said. Those kinds of situations can be haunting.

“A lot of times, they have some skeletons in the closet,” Erb said.

About a dozen employees at Mutual Aid EMS are being trained to help colleagues who respond to stressful incidents by checking in with them on a regular basis and getting them connected to additional support, if necessary. They also can help if an employee notices someone they work with might be struggling, Penzera said.

“You don’t know which call is going to affect you and how they’re going to affect you,” he said. “Anything could pop up at any time.”

Area first responders were challenged March 20 when a father and four of his children were killed in a house fire in Jeannette. Police were honored last month for helping to rescue the mother and two children from the flames.

Jeannette police Chief Derek Manley said the force has peer support services and state troopers who are trained to help in those types of situations immediately reached out, as did the county.

“Every type of incident affects an officer in different ways,” Manley said. “Some guys can brush something off, but others can hit home. For a lot of us, kids are the biggest factor.”