USA: Care Continues for Navy Yard Victims

The Federal Occupations Health and Employee Assistance Program (FOHEAP) will continue to provide support to personnel affected by the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard (WNY) as the Special Psychiatric Rapid Intervention Teams (SPRINT) return to Portsmouth, Va. Oct. 3, 2013.

The SPRINT teams, made up of psychologists, chaplains, corpsmen and religious program specialists, comprise an immediate crisis response team who has had more than 9,000 interactions with uniformed and civilian employees from the WNY since the shooting incident Sept. 16. Interactions ranged from phone calls to group counseling for Navy Yard employees and families seeking support.

“Grief, displaced anger, these are all pretty normal responses to this situation,” explained SPRINT team member U.S. Public Health Services, Cmdr. Ingrid Pauli. “The leadership at NAVSEA [Naval Sea Systems Command] has been incredible in letting their employees know it is okay to seek help.”

The Emergency Family Assistance Center (EFAC) at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling and the Washington Navy Yard will continue assisting victims, workers and families with issues related to the shooting and can be reached for 24/7 care at 1-855-677-1755.

“The EAP (Employee Assistance Program) never goes away. We can provide individual or group counseling,” explained Kathleen Berman, senior operations manager for FOHEAP Crisis Team. “We provide sustained and continued support whenever and wherever the need.”

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Press Release, October 02, 2013; Image: US Navy