IAFF Center of Excellence Wins Award
The center operates from a 15-acre facility outside Washington D.C., and assists IAFF members who are struggling to cope with the stress and trauma that accumulates over the course of their career.
The International Association of Fire Fighters Center of Excellence, a joint project between IAFF and Advanced Recovery Systems that is a full-service residential treatment facility to combat substance abuse and post traumatic stress afflicting firefighters, has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval® for Behavioral Healthcare Accreditation, IAFF announced Oct. 11. The center is the first and only addiction center focusing on treating firefighters battling post traumatic stress and substance abuse, according to the announcement.
The center operates from a 15-acre facility outside Washington D.C., and assists IAFF members who are struggling to cope with the stress and trauma that accumulates over the course of their career. It's part of a larger initiative by IAFF to respond to behavioral health issues among its members. IAFF has established a peer support program to assist members after critical events, and IAFF Peer support teams were activated to assist firefighters for the recent Las Vegas mass shooting incident and for hurricane Harvey and Irma responders.
"We are tremendously proud of what we have built for our members, and the Behavioral Health Accreditation from the Joint Commission ensures more of members will have access to the Center of Excellence and can receive the quality care they need to begin their road to recovery," said IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.
"We are very pleased to receive Behavioral Health Care Accreditation from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation," added Dr. Mitchell Eisenberg, CEO of Advanced Recovery Systems, the parent company of the IAFF Center of Excellence. "The opportunity to further help our men and women in the fire service get the treatment they need and deserve to return to their careers, passions, and families is an honor."