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Post by katecardinali on Mar 4, 2016 4:47:24 GMT
Does your department/agency have some sort of physical fitness plan for members to follow? Or does your department offer some sort of incentive to join a gym or provide the facility to do so?
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Post by kathleenedgin on Mar 5, 2016 18:34:57 GMT
The fire department I used to run with, didn't have a physical fitness plan nor did they have some sort of incentive for joining a gym.
I think health is important, especially since we all run on adrenaline and put our bodies through some challenging situations. That stress alone puts us at a greater risk than the average person.
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Post by kategetman on Mar 7, 2016 16:45:21 GMT
My non-transporting EMS agency doesn't have any sort of fitness requirement/plan. While all member have free access to a gym membership, this is a topic that we don't discuss as an agency. There is no one in our agency who is overweight of that has physical limitations, although in another ems/fire department I was a part of did. This definitely hindered the abilities of those members. Physical fitness is something that I think is very important, and crucial to providing the best patient care possible. It was always frustrating for me to see the types of foods that some members ate, especially right before the beginning of a shift. Food is fuel!
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Post by davidkennett on Mar 7, 2016 19:28:57 GMT
Fitness is very important no matter if you are in fire, EMS or law enforcement, if you agency does not have a fitness plan or an incentive for going to a gym, it is still your responsibility to get motivated and get to a gym regularly.
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Post by Jeff Schenk on Mar 8, 2016 1:06:56 GMT
We've tried it. It always seems to fade out over a short amount of time. We had access to local college fitness and swimming pool facilities.
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Post by kathleenedgin on Mar 8, 2016 17:34:10 GMT
Fitness is very important no matter if you are in fire, EMS or law enforcement, if you agency does not have a fitness plan or an incentive for going to a gym, it is still your responsibility to get motivated and get to a gym regularly. David, while I agree that those personnel in Fire, EMS or law enforcement should be making fitness a priority, I also know that there are many that don't have the motivation to go to the gym. Even if it was a requirement without any incentive, I could see members trying to get around the requirement. At least if there was an incentive to go to the gym, I could see this happening more. Although I have seen fire personnel who have gained so much weight that they have to order new gear because they don't want to go to the gym, don't have the motivation to go to the gym, etc. Unfortunately, it is a personal preference for everyone in these fields. Health insurance companies have found the idea that providing an incentive for doing healthy activities (quitting smoking, working out, etc.) is a motivating factor to get people to participate in their programs. |
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Post by timdodge on Mar 10, 2016 1:49:49 GMT
I agree with a fitness program. My department purchased thousands of dollars of fitness equipment and then found out our workers comp carrier will not cover you if you are injured while using fitness equipment. The only way they will cover you is there must be a personal trainer there at all times. Doesn't make much sense, penalized for exercising.
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Post by marknicolettajr on Mar 10, 2016 20:08:34 GMT
With my fire department, all new hires go the the academy which encompasses 14 weeks of a top of the line fitness program. After graduating the academy, firefighters can take an optional CPAT test. If you pass the CPAT, there is a monetary incentive to help encourage physical fitness. Also, all 7 of our houses have gyms in them, including the fire academy which firefighters have 24/7 access to
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lisaj
New Member
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Post by lisaj on Mar 13, 2016 20:45:37 GMT
I had my EMT training at a Rescue/Fire Station that had their own gym on site and thought that was awesome since it encouraged crew to work out during down time.While that is extremely convenient, I realize it's not feasible for many agencies because of lack of space or funds.I wonder if there are any gyms that will give EMS providers special rates? Are there any 24/7 open gyms any longer?
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lisaj
New Member
Posts: 11
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Post by lisaj on Mar 13, 2016 21:05:48 GMT
I had my EMT training at a Rescue/Fire Station that had their own gym on site and thought that was awesome since it encouraged crew to work out during down time.While that is extremely convenient, I realize it's not feasible for many agencies because of lack of space or funds.I wonder if there are any gyms that will give EMS providers special rates? Are there any 24/7 open gyms any longer?
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Post by Matt W. on Mar 14, 2016 18:15:04 GMT
I would agree that a fitness program would be great for we know a job in the EMS field doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with healthy eating habits. It would be nice to have some incentives, or exercise equipment however i can also see it from a owner/ department view of not wanting or allowing exercise equipment on premises due to insurance liabilities.
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Post by kaylawalker on Mar 15, 2016 1:23:50 GMT
I agree that a fitness program is great for EMS/Fire agencies to have due to the physical nature of the job it would be good for Fire/EMS to be in shape. Like Tim said, you have to make sure that your insurance company will cover your members if they get hurt because some will not.
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Post by jimano on Mar 18, 2016 16:16:22 GMT
I think one of the primary concerns of owners considering adding exercise equipment/facilities would be whether or not to allow use of those facilities during work hours. On one hand, they could allow use after work or when not on shift but who wants to come to work when your not working, but allowing use during working hours seems counterproductive and could increase response times due to the need to change clothes, dry off, etc. I think the best bet would be to create an employee plan with an offsite gym, pay a percentage but based on usage. Wouldn't want to be an owner paying for everyone's new years resolutions on January 1st, only for them to quit on January 7th.
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