This month FHE Health became the “primary provider of choice” for the National Fraternal Organization of Police (NFOP)— this after the NFOP vetted facilities nationwide and determined that FHE’s Shatterproof program offered the best treatment option to NFOP members.
“This would be kind of like if the NFL chose L.A. Fitness as its fitness provider,” FHE Health National Outreach Liaison Jeff Weinstein said, describing the significance of the agreement.
The momentous partnership could not come at a more urgent time: the number of cops who took their own lives in 2017 was three times higher than the number of cops killed in the line of duty, according to a 2018 USA Today report. And, rising rates of suicide are not the only red flag regarding the state of police mental health in this country. Untreated alcoholism and gambling are among a rising tide of addiction and mental disorders within the law enforcement demographic.
Putting the Mental Health of Police and Their Families First
With roughly 350,000 members and 2,100 local chapters and state lodges nationwide, the NFOP has been advocating on behalf of the health and wellbeing of police officers and their families since 1915. Now, thanks to this new agreement with FHE Health, hundreds of thousands of more cops have prioritized access to high-quality behavioral healthcare, which is specialized to meet their unique treatment needs. Meanwhile, FHE Health is serving as their primary, acute inpatient care provider for PTSD, addiction and other mental health services.
And, the new agreement is serving not just police officers but their immediate loved ones as well, with priority placement in FHE’s specialized treatment program for cops and first responders. Weinstein, who helped to broker the groundbreaking agreement, noted that roughly half of the referrals that FHE receives from the NFOP are for family members of police officers.
NFOP’s Commitment to Police Mental Health – Why FHE Health Chose to Partner with the NFOP
The new partnership is mutually beneficial: While FHE Health will help answer NFOP’s need for greater access to trusted acute mental health treatment, the NFOP will provide FHE with an extensive, national network of trusted continuing care referrals (for patients who have completed rehab at FHE and are returning to their home state).
FHE chose to partner with the NFOP and its wellness team for other reasons as well. The organization has prioritized the mental health care of its members by putting together a national crisis hotline, vetting resources like ours, and hosting wellness conventions. It also has worked to promote greater national awareness about police mental health, through national trainings that provide much-needed education about suicide and related issues.
How FHE’s Shatterproof Program First Began to Help Police Officers in Particular
The story of how FHE Health came to partner with NFOP started three years ago, with the creation of FHE’s “Shatterproof” program, a specialized treatment track for cops and other first responders. At that time, the State Policemen’s Benevolent Associations (PBA) of New York, New Jersey and Florida were looking for a more effective and comprehensive wellness program for their officers. The “Shatterproof” program evolved out of that collaboration between clinicians from the PBA and clinicians at FHE, and as the program became more successful, soon attracting not just police officers but other first responders, “we started to look at other areas where we could serve the community,” in Weinstein’s words.
Weinstein said Chicago, Illinois, was one of the very first areas to send its officers to Shatterproof. Another one of these areas was Denver, Colorado, where the NFOP is based.
Today “we’re now treating officers from literally the four corners of the country, from Maine to Miami Beach, from Oregon to Phoenix, Arizona,” Weinstein said.
How Shatterproof Serves Police Officers’ Mental Health Needs
Ultimately, the NFOP decided to make FHE Health its primary provider of choice because of the specialized treatment that the Shatterproof program offers cops:
- Neuro Rehab Services – Each patient in Shatterproof receives a neuro treatment plan that identifies and therapeutically targets areas of dysfunction in the brain.
- Trauma-Based Clinical Interventions – “Trauma, trauma, trauma. It’s all trauma,” Weinstein said when discussing the unique mental health needs of cops. The Shatterproof program addresses these needs by administering trauma-based therapies that have been proven to relieve PTSD and related symptoms.
- A Peer Support Group – Processing mental health issues in a group of their peers makes it easier for cops to open up, be vulnerable and receive support.
Together, these three factors boost recovery outcomes for police officers, so that they can get back to serving their families and communities as soon as possible.
“These first responders are wired to help other people,” Weinstein said. “Unfortunately, they’re not wired to help themselves. They’re caregivers. They’re worried about everything at home and in order for them to recover and get better, they need to focus on themselves and get themselves healthy … The “check engine” light has been on for years before they have the opportunity to be sent down here…”
Is your “check engine” light on? Don’t wait another day to start feeling better. Call us today at 1-855-337-8058. Our counselors are available 24/7 and would be glad to assist you.
