NCFPD changes employee wellness programs


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Joe naman

Village news reporter

The North County Fire Protection District has changed providers of employee wellness programs.

The Fire District was using the SACFIT wellness program, but a 5-0 vote by the NCFPD board of directors on December 14 approved a transition to assessing the health and fitness of on-duty firefighters. .

“It is our hope that we can provide our people with a wellness program that will keep them mentally and physically healthy and strong throughout their careers,” said NCFPD Fire Chief Keith McReynolds.

North County Fire had used SACFIT for over a decade, but SACFIT limited itself to employee fitness assessments. “Historically, we have provided a fitness-based wellness program,” said McReynolds. “This new program will actually provide medical tests for our people.”

On-Duty Health will also provide audiometric testing, vision assessment, cardiac stress test and peak oxygen uptake rate measurements, ultrasound tests that include early detection of cancer, and health assessments. behavioral. On-Duty Health provides medical specialists, nurse practitioners, exercise physiologists, and ultrasound and x-ray technicians who are trained in National Fire Protection Association health standards.

“It’s really state of the art,” McReynolds said.

Each employee will receive a fully electronic and secure online portal with all assessment results which are stored for continuous user access.

The additional annual cost to the Fire District is $ 15,000, although studies have shown that fire departments using the Wellness and Fitness Initiative programs spend only a third of the cost. amount for injured or ill fire department employees that departments without a WFI program spend.

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