Article Highlights
- The problem: Burnout and poor EMS mental health
- The solution: PowerLine, an EMS mental health app
- The benefits: Access anonymous wellness resources, promote EMS wellness, and better serve citizens
The problem: Low well-being in EMS
Even in good times, EMS work is high-stakes and high-pressure. Today’s EMS staffing shortages, low pay, and poor recognition add to this stress and create the perfect storm for record-high EMS burnout and low morale. To complicate matters further, many responders are reluctant to seek mental wellness support due to the stigma associated with asking for help. As a result, employees suffer in silence, and their mental health worsens.
Eventually, your EMS agency faces high turnover as employees quit so they can recuperate from the job. Of course, this only perpetuates low EMS well-being for the remaining employees, as they must work longer hours to compensate for staffing shortages. As candidates catch wind of these challenging working conditions, it becomes increasingly difficult to recruit employees, and you remain understaffed. The cycle continues. Ultimately, low EMS well-being makes it impossible to maintain staffing levels that keep first responders and citizens safe in the field.
The solution: An employee wellness app
Your agency can promote better EMS health and well-being with PowerLine by PowerDMS. This one-stop mobile app gives EMS staff 24/7 access to wellness resources that support their mental health.
EMS employees can use PowerLine’s nationwide network of volunteer peers to connect with individuals across the country. PowerLine uses an algorithm to match responders with peers based on their experience. As a result, EMS staff can share in open conversations with individuals who understand precisely what they’re going through. EMS staff who prefer to hear multiple perspectives can also participate in virtual, topic-specific discussion groups moderated by volunteer peers.
In addition to peer support resources, PowerLine provides a complete library of wellness content that responders can access whenever they need support. This library includes 24/7 access to videos, articles, and audio content built exclusively around the challenges EMS personnel face in their professional and personal lives.
Perhaps most importantly, EMS staff identities are kept entirely anonymous when accessing content or engaging in conversations with peer volunteers. In-app activity isn’t reported to supervisors or watched by the agency, and all browsing data is deleted after access. As a result, employees can get the help they need without second-guessing what others might think.
The benefits of mental wellness apps
PowerDMS’s mobile app provides EMS staff access to completely anonymous wellness resources – whenever and wherever they’re needed. EMS personnel can rely on PowerLine to feel heard, talk through job challenges, and access critical resources that support them personally and professionally.
Because user identity is kept completely anonymous, responders can get the help they need without worrying about judgment from others. As a result, employees are less likely to experience EMS burnout and leave your agency. Instead, staff who use mental wellness apps have improved EMS mental health and morale, enabling your department to provide the best emergency medical services possible.
Learn more
Schedule a demo today to learn more about how PowerEngage provides the best resources to support mental health and reduce EMS burnout at your agency.