Saint Clare's names longtime paramedic as region's first mental health champion for EMTs

North Jersey EMTs have a new partner to help them deal with the stress of a job that can sometimes be overwhelming.

Saint Clare's Health, the Denville-based hospital system, has named Corinne Flammer as the system's first Emergency Medical Services mental health resilience officer as it seeks to “prioritize the mental wellness of first responders."

Flammer, a paramedic for Saint Clare's and a lifetime volunteer with the Parsippany ambulance squad, is the first to serve in such a role in North Jersey, Saint Clare's said.

“Placing the mental health and wellness needs of our first responders in the forefront is a highest priority of the EMS Department,” Deborah Paglianite, the system's EMS clinical manager, said in a statement this month.

The pressures on first responders and emergency personnel were put in sharp relief again last week with the death by apparent suicide of longtime Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik. A review of studies in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services in 2022 noted that EMS workers are "predisposed to mental illnesses due to high-stress environments, repeated exposure to morbid events, and lack of a structured sleep schedule."

"This predisposition is well known," yet there is resistance to acknowledging it "within an industry so heavily influenced by pride and interpersonal judgement," wrote author Taylor Shearer, a Pennsylvania paramedic.

Mental health tools for EMTs

Flammer, 55, of Sparta, has a master's degree in psychology, a long-standing interest in mental health and a love of emergency medical services. In an interview, she said she knows stress management is essential for the well-being of first responders from firsthand experience. Certified at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark 33 years ago, she has been a paramedic and volunteer EMT ever since.

Last March, when Flammer took an online course that certified her as a mental health resiliency officer, she found another passion: giving fellow front-line workers the mental health tools they need.

“EMS work is inherently stressful," she said. "We're the first line of help that people see, and it can be hard. They're going through the worst day of their lives and we show up and they are at a high stress level. Doing that every day can pile up."

With Saint Clare’s, which operates hospitals and service centers throughout Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, Flammer helped develop what the health system says is the first EMS resiliency program of its kind in the area. Now she’s reaching out to local EMTs and other first responders to help them develop their own programs.

More: After Sheriff Berdnik's death, NJ officials push mental health resources for law enforcement

Resiliency officers are trained to spot stress in those around them and prepare contact lists of mental health professionals and peers who can offer support before and after stressful situations. They’re also a shoulder to lean on, something that has helped Flammer herself.

Dealing with stress

“Calls that involve a child are more stressful overall to all EMS workers," she said. "Recently we had a call that had a very sick child, and we did everything that we could to help her. She had a decent outcome in the end. But I found myself feeling a little sad and a little distracted after that call. I made sure that for the next week, I kept on a good sleep schedule. I made sure that I ate correctly. I took some time off and put some fun back into my life.”

Those are some of the suggestions she gives. Fellow first responders think of themselves as being strong and and seeing that as the opposite of needing help. Nothing could be further from the truth, Flammer said.

When first responders converged on the Clifton restaurant where Berdnik died by of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last Tuesday, St. Clare’s paramedics were there. Flammer reached out and let them know they had support.

Training offered free of charge

As resilience officer, her responsibilities include being a point of contact for EMS team members facing mental health challenges and teaching resilience to EMTs throughout the state. The training will be free of charge, the Saint Clare's statement said.

Saint Clare's Health will be a point of access for any of the organizations in North Jersey that require resources.

Flammer is available to answer questions about the program at corinneflammer@primehealthcare.com.

Gene Myers covers disability and mental health for NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: myers@northjersey.com; Twitter: @myersgene

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Morris hospital names longtime paramedic to focus on EMT mental health