PTSD workers comp for first responders nearly finalized – Washington Examiner
In Pennsylvania, legislation to provide workers’ compensation for first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has made significant progress, with the state Senate recently approving the proposal. This initiative aims to extend mental health support to responders experiencing PTSD, a condition already recognized in 25 other states. Rep. Jenn O’Mara, the prime sponsor of the bill, shared her personal connection to the issue, noting that her father, a firefighter, tragically died by suicide in 2003. She emphasized the importance of making mental health care more accessible to prevent similar tragedies.
Sen. Camera Bartolotta echoed these sentiments, recalling her own experience with trauma related to her husband’s death and the emotional impact on families affected by such incidents. The newly passed House Bill 1632 also clarifies that PTSD claims do not need to be linked to “abnormal working conditions,” thereby broadening the scope of coverage for those in high-stress emergency roles.
PTSD workers comp for first responders nearly finalized
(The Center Square) – First responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder moved one step closer to qualifying for workers compensation in Pennsylvania.
The state Senate approved a proposal on Wednesday to expand the program to cover those living with the condition. Twenty-five other states have already done so, according to prime sponsor Rep. Jenn O’Mara, D-Springfield.
O’Mara said her father, a Philadelphia firefighter whom she called her hero, died by suicide in 2003.
“First responders are heroes, but they’re not superheroes,” she said in May when the lower chamber approved the bill. “We need to make mental health care more accessible to prevent tragedies like the one my family went through.”
On Wednesday, Sen. Camera Bartolotta, D-Washington, recalled O’Mara’s story and her own experience speaking with a 911 dispatcher who helped her tend to her dying husband.
“There are too many stories like that,” Bartolotta said. “It traumatizes and affects a family for a lifetime.”
“I understand, I appreciate and I honor those 911 operators with all my heart,” she later added.
House Bill 1632 also clarifies the injury doesn’t have to result from “abnormal working conditions.” State police officers, firefighters, paramedics and officers of the peace may qualify if diagnosed within three years of an initial claim. Roughly 100,000 first responders live in Pennsylvania.
Analysis from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration published in 2018 estimated that 30% of first responders develop mental health conditions, as compared to 20% among the general population.
Further research from the National Institutes of Health released in 2022 estimates up to 10% of emergency workers develop PTSD, specifically.
Pennsylvania’s emergency response network faces an unprecedented staffing crisis as workers sacrifice mental and physical health to serve others – particularly in the state’s rural communities.
The bill returns to the House for concurrence, the last formal step before heading to the governor’s desk.
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