The men and women of our emergency and military services see tragic events every day. They witness human suffering up close and it sometimes becomes very difficult to cope with the aftermath.
Smells, sounds and reliving witnessed events create lasting painful memories that haunt these men and women for life. It is their legacy for helping others in times of human suffering.
The Tema Conter Memorial Trust was established to end the silence and ease the suffering.
Through research, education, training, and through the provision of peer and psychological support, we aim to help these men and women when they need it most.
Help us, help them
8440 Highway 27
Woodbridge, Ontario
L4L 1A5
Saturday 19 Februrary 2011
The Conference starts at 7.30 am with it ending at 4.00 pm
Have a question? Call 1-888-288-8036
A Tribute to our Emergency Services and Military Personnel
Join us on Saturday, February 19, 2011 for our
10th Anniversary Gala.
VIP Reception: 5.30 pm
Cocktails: 6.00 pm
Dinner: 7.15 pm
Gala Tickets: $125.00 per person
VIP Reception Tickets: $75.00
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| Medics and soldiers in Kandahar prepare an EVAC |
PLENARY SPEAKER
Mr. Paul Franklin
Paul Franklin didn't set out to become a hero -- much less one of "Canada's Heroes," as TIME magazine calls him. A former medic with the Canadian Armed Forces, Franklin was nearly killed in Afghanistan in 2006 when a suicide bomber smashed into his vehicle, killing a Canadian diplomat. Franklin lost both of his legs, but he survived. At home, he made national headlines, becoming a symbol of the resilience and unheralded work that Canadian soldiers -- hardworking men and women -- are doing to bring stability to a volatile region. Against incredible odds, and after twenty-six surgeries, he began walking on artificial legs and rebuilding his life in Canada.
TOPIC: The Long Walk Home
In his keynotes, Franklin shares stories about the work he and his fellow soldiers were doing in Afghanistan. Whatever your feelings on Canada's involvement, he brings an articulate, non-polemical and rarely glimpsed human element to discussions of our mission. With affable charm and perspective, he also talks about the infamous bombing -- about how a combination of improvisational teamwork, mental toughness and vigorous training kept him alive. At the core of his talk is the immense hope he held onto, even when things looked bleakest, to see his family and to be able to walk his son to school every morning.
PLENARY SPEAKER
Dr. Jullette Saussy, Chief, New Orleans EMS (Retired)
Dr. Saussy started in EMS in 1984 as an EMT and received her paramedic training in 1986 from the University of South Alabama. Dr. Saussy worked as a paramedic for the New Orleans Health Department EMS Service on the night shift between graduating from Tulane University and attending Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans for medical school. Dr. Saussy completed her internship and residency at Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana.
She assumed the roles of Chief and Medical Director of New Orleans Emergency Medical Services in 2004, only one year prior to Hurricane Katrina devastating the Gulf Coast and flooding New Orleans. She submitted her resignation on October 1, 2010.
TOPIC: Katrina - 5 years later.
As a result of Hurricaine Katrina, the City of New Orleans suffered significant damage to its infrastructure. Emergency services organizations were overwhelmed by its aftermath. Dr. Saussy will discuss the trials and tribulations faced by many after Katrina. Most importantly, she will discuss the effects of Katrina on the New Orleans EMS system.
Dr. Martin Shain
Dr. Martin Shain is founder and principal of the Neighbour at Work Centre®, a consulting agency in the area of workplace mental health and safety [www.neighbouratwork.com]. Martin is trained in both law and social science. He worked for many years as a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Currently he holds academic appointments in the departments of public health at the University of Toronto and Simon Fraser University. Martin helps private and public sector employers and unions understand and meet their new legal obligations to provide and maintain psychologically safe workplaces.
TOPIC: The Psychologically Safe Workplace: A New Legal Requirement And How To Meet It
Legally enforceable standards for the protection of mental health at work are being set increasingly high. These standards require employers to acquire new knowledge and skills and to develop and implement policies and programs that will ensure a psychologically safe workplace, which is one that does not permit significant harm to employee mental health in negligent, reckless or intentional ways. To avoid legal liability, prudent employers need to develop policies and programs that meet the new legal standards.
Bob Harper, Chaplain, RCMP “K” (Alberta) Division; RCMP “V” Division (Nunavut)
Since joining the RCMP in 2002, Rob has involved with 15 Line of Duty deaths. He will share his personal experiences in dealing with families, co-workers and employers during this time of crisis.
TOPIC: Line of Duty Deaths
Line of Duty Deaths are listed as one of the most critical, traumatic, life altering experiences first responders experience.
Learn about the numerous phases of experience.
- The incident: How the death(s) occurred, who was present, what happened, what didn’t happen.
- Attending the scene: Securing the scene, apprehending the “bad guy”.
- At the scene: How the involvment of people changes during the investigation and its aftermath.
- Involvement of outside organizations.
- Care to families, co-workers and employers.
- Preparation for Funerals/Memorial Services: Family issues, wants and needs, Regimental Funerals or equivalent.
- The memorial service and burial.
- The long term impact of Line of Duty deaths.
John Bredin, Parole Officer, Corrections Services Canada
In 1999 John joined Muskoka Victim Services and remains part of the organization as a CISM trainer today. In 2000 John helped bring CISM to Fenbrook and Beaver Creek Federal Institutions, presently serving as the CISM Team Leader. In 2002 John was recruited by the Georgian CISM Team and serves as a member in good standing. In 2006 John was certified by the ATSS as a Certified Traumatic Stress Specialist. John is ICISF trained in numerous CISM themes and works as a Federal Parole Officer as well as a Crisis Worker with Muskoka Parry Sound Community Mental Health.
TOPIC: Critical Incident Stress Within Correctional Services Canada
Have you ever been within a prison? Within a Canadian prison? Could CISM be used within Canada's prison walls? Do people who work in the country's prisons see more; know more than their psychological coping skills can handle; and how do we send them home intact? John will discuss the use of CISM for staff within a prison environment. What is similar and what is different than the applications used within other emergency services communities. This presentation will use pictorial depictions of actual incidents within prison walls that necessitated a CISM response.
Robin Young, Professor, A-EMCA, B.Sc., MA Conestoga College
Robin Young has been involved with EMS education since 1986. He is presently the coordinator of the Conestoga Paramedic Program in Kitchener Ontario. Prior to this, he was a professor with the Humber College Paramedic program for 21 years. He has also taught in Nursing, Funeral Services and Pre-Health Science programs. He is a regular contributor to the Canadian Emergency News magazine, focusing on paramedic education, EMS stress, and paramedic safety. He has also presented on Paramedic Personal Protection, EMS Stress and EMS Crisis Response.
Robin has a M.A. in Adult Education in the Community College from Central Michigan University and a B.Sc. in Health Studies from University of Waterloo. He is an A-EMCA and has worked with Toronto EMS. Robin can be reached at willyoung@rogers.com.
TOPIC: Paramedic Students and Critical Incident Stress
Robin Young will examine the potential for paramedic students to suffer the effects of Critical Incident Stress due to their exposure to traumatic calls during their student preceptorships. Unlike their preceptor crews, paramedic students tend to have less on-road experience, less coping strategies and less immediate resources available to them after a disturbing call. They are more likely to "hold in" their emotional/psychological reactions to a traumatic call, resulting in potential personal and academic concerns. Resources and approaches to addressing Critical Incident Stress will be discussed. This presentation is aimed at students, educators and paramedic preceptor crews.
Mark Bonokoski: National Editor, Toronto Sun
RECIPIENT: The Tema Conter Memorial Trust Media Award
Mark Bonokoski is the award-winning National Editorial Writer for Sun Media, the largest newspaper chain in Canada. Mark was honoured in 2004 with a National Newspaper Award citation for column writing, and has been a frequent winner of the Dunlop Award as Sun Media’s top columnist, as well as dozens of other awards — including the 2007 Beyond Borders National Media Award for a 3,000-word Maclean's feature on a historic child-abuse case involving a teacher and guidance counselor at a prestigious Toronto private school for boys. The award was presented in Winnipeg. A graduate of the Ryerson University journalism department where he was editor of both the Ryersonian and the Eyeopener, his career as a columnist began in 1977, after serving as a general-assignment reporter with the Calgary Herald and the Windsor Star, before joining the Toronto Sun in 1974. Between 1988 and 1991, he served as Sun Media’s European Bureau Chief, stationed in London, Eng., covering such international events as the escalating troubles in Northern Ireland, the terrorist bombing of the Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, the coming down of the Berlin Wall, and the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. He also travelled extensively in southern Africa. In 1991, he was named Editor of the Ottawa Sun and, in 1997, he was named the newspaper’s Publisher and CEO. He returned to his writer’s roots in 2000 as National Affairs columnist for Sun Media, in Ottawa, and then returned to the Toronto Sun as a columnist in 2002, and was appointed National Editorial Writer for the entire Sun Media chain in September 2010. He has had his freelance work published in Maclean’s and Reader’s Digest. As well as commentating on Outdoor Journal Radio, on Toronto's Fan 590, Mark's twice-weekly radio commentaries can be heard on the Haliburton Broadcasting Group network of radio stations north of the 905 most of them flying the Moose-FM banner.
Vicarious Trauma: The Quiet Stressor
TOPIC: Vicarious Trauma, The Quiet Stressor
Mark will discuss the effects of Vicarious Trauma and ho
w it may affect frontline jounalists when attending emergency scenes.
Bruce Kruger, OPP Detective Inspector (Retired)
Bruce worked as an ambulance attendant since 13 years old. At 15 years, he was the only person small enough to pass a deceased family of five out of a VW. He drove ambulances at 16 and instructed first-aid for co-workers at 18. In 1970, Bruce became an Ontario Provincial Police officer doing traffic work for his first three years at Niagara Falls detachment and then transferred to Bracebridge, where he continues to reside. He has been involved throughout Ontario in major drug cases, criminal investigations, various leadership positions including Detachment Commander, Provincial Coordinator for the Tactics and Rescue Unit, Provincial Coordinator for Auxiliary Policing and Provincial Coordinator for Community Policing. He retired from the Criminal Investigations Bureau as a Detective Inspector Dec - 1999. During his career, Bruce was involved with numerous serious incidents Bruce quietly endured Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for over thirty years.
TOPIC: PTSD and its effects on family members.
This presentation outlines the personal struggles of Bruce’s policing career while suffering from PTSD. It shall include his ability and desperate reasoning to hide this knowledge of PTSD from family, peers and superiors. The main focus of the presentation is directed to the failings of the current government system which fails to assist, guide and support police victims of PTSD or the needs of their families. It will also highlight the horrific personal sufferings of numerous officers and their families who are currently experiencing total rejection and no support so urgently needed. It will bring forth very specific directions and needs which must be immediately undertaken by police leadership and the Government of Ontario to save further destruction of their lives. Bruce will also stress the need for support of a Public Enquiry hopefully to b
e undertaken by the Ombudsman.
Dr. Lori Gray, Psychologist, Toronto Emergency Medical Services
Dr. Lori Gray has strived to tackle the issue of trauma from multiple angles by working with first responders, trauma victims, and perpetrators. Dr. Gray provides assessment, therapy, and crisis intervention to first responders and their families. Her research has focused on the prevention of traumatic stress by utilizing existing factors in the emergency services environment. For her work with first responders, Dr. Gray has received awards from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Canadian Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, University of Windsor, and Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program. Most recently, she received the Future Pioneers of Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association and was nominated for the Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal. Key experiences include employment and collaboration with emergency service organizations, the Psychological Trauma Program and Law and Mental Health Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Detroit Receiving Hospital (level one trauma centre in inner city Detroit), and private practice settings.
TOPIC: Creating a CISM and/or Peer Support Team
Dr. Gray will discuss the methodology of structuring a CISM/Peer Support program for your organization.
John Robertson, BA, M. Div., CTS
John has been serving in the community with Victims Crisis Unit, emergency service personnel support, OPP, corporate-individual trauma response and training, plus organizational development and counselling with individuals, marriage, family and career transition. He is an approved instructor with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) – www.icisf.org and a Certified Trauma Specialist with www.atss.info and has been very involved in faith-based communities for over twenty years at the same time
Family Dynamics - How to share with loved ones and teaching them how to support "us"
TOPIC: How does one do their job and not have it affect their home life.
Yet at the same time how does one not bring it home so that there is a boundary that is healthy between the two worlds. The fact is that work does impact the home life and home life does impact the work life. Part of this is communication in a way that allows one to be authentic and real and yet at the same time not to bare ones soul; sometimes to get into our feelings post work day will only make things worse and yet often the partner wants to know what our thoughts and feelings are and pushes for them to share – the result is another bad situation when there was already one at work that ‘we’ wanted to leave there – the safe refuge is gone. This will look at principles at home to maintain healthy boundaries and also ways to share without pretending. At the same we will discuss tools for family/friends to support us in a way that is helpful
Captain John Hill, BA, BSc, MSW, Mississauga Fire Department
John is a professional Fire Captain working for over 25 years within the GTA. For many years Mr. Hill co-ordinated the Critical Incident Stress Management program for his fire department. In addition, John is a registered Social Worker specializing in the area of trauma. Mr. Hill is a highly regarded trauma counselor, having conducted hundreds of interventions and debriefings, in both the private and public sectors. John has made presentations for a wide variety of audiences including, doctors, social workers, police services, fire departments government agencies and professional associations. In 2001, John was one of fifty Canadian trauma counselors that responded to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, debriefing survivors of the World Trade Centre collapse.
In 1996, through the International Fire Service Exchange Program, John worked for the Melbourne Fire Brigade in Victoria, Australia for a one year term. During that time, John was involved in original research dealing with PTSD levels of Australian firefighters and the effectiveness of critical incident stress debriefings. From this research several studies have been published.
TOPIC: Vicarious Trauma
Every job has risks. Athletes have physical risks and try to reduce them through constant physical conditioning and teams of support staff such as trainers, physical therapists and even surgeons. Office personnel try to reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome and burnout with ergonomic furniture and work/life balance. Those within emergency services have personal protective equipment, policies and even EAP’s and Peer teams to reduce the exposure and impact of their work environments. But what about those that choose to help the helpers? What about those who are willing to deal with the mental pain of other’s in order to help them heal and recover? There are risks for both the peers and mental heath providers alike that help the traumatized and those who are burned out. Their occupational risks are called compassion fatigue or vicarious traumatisation.
Through the findings of research as well as frontline experience as a peer within emergency services and a highly respected social worker in the field of trauma, John Hill will discuss vicarious trauma. Are the risks real? Who is at risk? And who needs to take responsibility for mitigating vicarious trauma?
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