The Gateway Centre for Excellence in Rural Health is looking out for local firefighters.
They've been doing so through the Benefitting Rural Area Volunteer Emergency Firefighters, or BRAVE-F Project. Sage Milne, the project lead for the Gateway Centre, says the project launched on August 20 and 21 in Seaforth and Bayfield at the fire halls.
She notes the project specifically focuses on helping to promote and contribute to the well-being of our first responders, and a number of tests were done at the screening pilots.
"We did all these different tests that have a close association with cardiovascular health. We had volunteer nurses run blood sugar and blood pressure and pulse stations. We also had our research assistants taking note of things like height and weight," Milne explained.
Milne says they want to help first responders in the region take their own personal health into account, especially given that upwards of 90 percent of local firefighters are volunteers. She notes that over 70 percent of firefighters nationwide are volunteers. The tests that were done also paired with a presentation for the firefighters.
"So we had all those general tests and we also had a presentation from two of our research chairs, Dr. Ken Milne and Dr. Mike Beazely, who did a 15-minute presentation on cardiovascular health, and they explained what all these tests we were doing actually show," said Milne.
Now, after the success of the two pilot sessions, which Milne says were very well received by the firefighters and fire chiefs, the plan is to expand the BRAVE-F project to other local fire halls.
"We've learned a lot from this and now that we've done that we're trying to arrange other sessions at the other fire halls, and eventually do the screenings there. Some will be in the fall and some in the spring. We just really wanna keep things rolling," Milne shared. “We started BRAVE-F in the Summer of 2023 and have ended the summer of 2024 with the first two pilot screenings. I am happy to be working with such an incredible team of young researchers. I look forward to using the skills I've learned as I return to school this fall.”
“I am so proud of the Gateway Team for taking on this challenge,” added Gwen Devereaux, President of Gateway CERH. “These volunteers are so important to the well-being of our community and really are our heroes. Please help us reach every firefighter in Huron County.”
If you would like to learn more about BRAVE-F or other projects, please contact info@gatewayruralhealth.ca or visit our website: https://www.gatewayruralhealth.ca/.