By Randall Rigsbee
Pittaboro, NC – The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) has partnered with FirstHealth of the Carolinas to provide confidential wellness and behavioral health services to all CCSO employees, bringing professional support directly into the workplace.
The partnership with the FirstHealth Reid Center for Well-Being provides employees access to short-term counseling, crisis intervention, critical incident stress support, occupational health and wellness coaching, referrals to specialty providers and other services designed to support employees through both professional and personal challenges.
Services are available to all CCSO personnel, including employees at the Sheriff’s Office, Chatham County Detention Center and Chatham Sheriff’s Animal Resource Center. FirstHealth clinicians are available Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with offices located on-site at the Sheriff’s Office Annex and in the Detention Administration Area.
The initiative grew from an idea Sheriff Steve Maynor had while serving as chief deputy. CCSO contracts with Southern Health Partners Inc. to provide medical care to inmates at the Chatham County Detention Center, and Sheriff Maynor began considering whether a similar approach could provide dedicated wellness support for CCSO employees.
“Taking care of our people has always been important to me,” Sheriff Maynor said. “Our employees deal with difficult situations as part of their jobs, but they also have families, responsibilities and challenges outside of work just like everyone else. We wanted to make sure they had access to professional support when they need it; and bringing that resource in-house makes it easier for our employees to use.”
FirstHealth sees the partnership as an opportunity to apply its experience in operational psychology and wellness to the unique demands of public safety work.
“It is no longer enough to focus solely on physical fitness and tactical training,” said Dr. Trey Tippens, PsyD., Medical Director for FirstHeath Reid Center for Well-Being. “Ensuring well-being and mental optimization are essential to ensure officers are equipped to perform at their best. Chatham County Sheriff’s Office is a leader in recognizing this need and working with our team to provide this service to their team.”
Tippens is a licensed clinical psychologist with a background in military psychology and leadership development, Tippens has worked with military personnel, first responders, health care organizations and other public service professionals.
The FirstHealth team also brings experience in operational psychology supporting U.S. Army Special Operations and health care professionals. That experience informs a model that emphasizes making wellness resources an embedded part of high-demand organizations.
“Having the services embedded in the workplace is an important part of the model,” Tippens said. “Our team wants to understand the environments where the work happens, the complexities of the county and the specific roles of the people we are supporting.”
Services offered through the partnership include individual short-term counseling; crisis intervention and psychological first aid; critical incident stress support following events such as use-of-force incidents, inmate deaths or line-of-duty injuries; sleep, hypervigilance and occupational health coaching; personality assessment and coaching; group professional development; and referral coordination with community-based or specialty providers when appropriate.
All services are confidential and follow HIPAA guidelines. Appointments are scheduled directly through FirstHealth’s Reid Center for Well-Being.
The FirstHealth Center for Well-Being has provided wellness and behavioral health resources to its own teams, including EMS, emergency department, law enforcement and security personnel, for many years. Its work includes support for day-to-day personal and work-related challenges as well as crisis response following mass-casualty events and loss of life.
“We know that asking for help is not always easy, particularly in professions where people are accustomed to being the ones others turn to for help,” Sheriff Maynor said. “This gives our employees another resource, right here at CCSO, and we want them to know it is available whenever they need it.”
Tippens said FirstHealth hopes the partnership will continue to expand its work supporting public safety and other organizations that serve the community.
“Our goal is to continue to broaden our expertise in this field to help those groups that partner with and support our health care system and the communities we serve,” Tippens said.
The partnership is intended to be an ongoing resource for CCSO employees and is part of the Sheriff’s Office’s broader commitment to supporting the well-being of the people who serve Chatham County.