WVSOM hosts first responders for trauma coping skills presentation

LEWISBURG, WV (LOOTPRESS) – West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine this week hosted dozens of first responders for a presentation exploring trauma coping skills.

Sponsored by WVSOM’s Center for Rural and Community Health and Marshal University’s Center of Excellence for Recovery, the “Code Grey: Finding Calm in the Chaos” presentation saw attendance from roughly 37 first responders who obtained additional education credits.

The September 11, 2024, trauma coping skills presentation saw a husband-wife team illustrating by way of regular household situations ways in which stress can impact emergency responders.

“Communities need to come together to offer opportunities, like the one today, to encourage the people who watch out for us each day to preserve their health,” said WVSOM CRCH Executive Director, Brian Hendricks, Ph.D. “The CRCH is committed to serving the state of West Virginia and helping to address the health inequities our rural communities and people experience.”

Licensed professional counselor, Kari Mika-Lude, Ph.D. compared accumulating stress to laundry, stating, “Think about laundry. You throw one shirt on the floor next to the hamper. No big deal. But then you keep throwing shirts, pants and socks on the pile and soon you have several loads of laundry to deal with,” Mika-Lude explained. “It’s the same way with trauma. It’s not one specific call that gets to you. It can be the cumulative effect of years of calls.”

A grant through Volunteer West Virginia – an agency which administers service programs on the national level throughout the state, funded the presentation. This grant also made it possible for WVSOM’s CRCH to pack hundreds of backpacks with schools supplies for Monroe and Greenbrier County students, provide additional school supplies at community events, and distribute hundreds of National Geographic books to the youth.

The grant also made possible visits to elementary schools to read and provide information about careers in first response and emergency preparedness.