Rochester, Indiana - May 2004
Celebrating its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary in 2003, the county seat of Fulton County has much to be proud of. This north central Indiana city of 6,400 is known for its friendly people, beautiful Lake Manitou, being the former home of a world-class circus, and its selection twice as an outstanding city for its achievements and lifestyle-most recently in 1998 by the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce.

Serving the Community
Police Chief Greg Halfast has overseen his department of 14 officers for the past 6 years. He is supported by a strong command staff, a dedicated group of line officers and a hard working civilian support team. All of his sworn personnel are trained and certified by the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield. Chief Halfast has served his department for over 25 years and has established a strong working relationship with the local schools. He represents his department as the designated safety officer on the School Crisis Committee and is a member of the Governor's Commission for a Drug Free Indiana. One outcome of these relationships has been the establishment of a school help line that enables students to register complaints, such as bullying or other related safety issues. The help line, promoted through the school newspaper, bulletin boards, student-made posters, and the school daily announcement system, has generated roughly 5 referral calls per month since it commenced in January of this year.

In similar fashion, 9-year Fire Chief Mike Gearhart has had a specific focus on students as well. Every October during National Fire Prevention Week, the department leads fire prevention and safety programs for grades K-3. These services are also provided to daycare centers. Students are taught how to "stop, drop and roll", fire escape plans, and the importance of having two ways out. Kindergartners even get a fire truck ride.

For both departments, reaching people at an early age will help develop a safer community in the future. This applies to their own personnel as well.

A Healthy Partnership
The departments have worked together for many years to ensure the health of their teams. Everything from complete medical evaluations to mask fitting has been performed on their personnel on an annual basis-right at their worksite. The focus is on prevention. Fire Chief Gearhart observes that "most people don't go to the doctor unless there's a problem. Having an annual program for our personnel, keeps them regularly informed on their health." The fact that 80 percent of the emergency runs each year are fire related, makes being healthy that much more important. "When you put those air packs on, you need to be in decent shape," emphasizes the chief.

The Value of Wellness
While the fire department mandates the evaluations for all personnel, the police department continues to provide them on a voluntary basis. Police Chief Halfast currently has half of his personnel taking advantage of the service. He has particularly appreciated the information provided by the blood test. "Our jobs require us to eat a lot on the road. Cholesterol issues have been caught in our personnel and dealt with. You don't want to be in the middle of a heart attack when you find these things out," he remarks.

Both departments have appreciated the fact that a healthy employee is a valuable employee. "These services provide a dividend to each person that they can use in their own personal lives," concludes Chief Halfast.

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© 2006 Public Safety Medical Services