Prehospital Behavioral Emergencies and Crisis Response

With more than 38,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (aaos.org or orthoinfo.org), is the premier not-for-profit organization that provides education programs for orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals, champions the interests of patients and advances the highest quality of musculoskeletal health. Orthopaedic surgeons and the Academy are the authoritative sources of information for patients and the general public on musculoskeletal conditions, treatments and related issues.More than one in four Americans have bone or joint health problems, making them the greatest cause of lost work days in the U.S. When orthopaedic surgeons restore mobility and reduce pain, they help people get back to work and to independent, productive lives. Orthopaedic surgeons keep this “Nation in Motion.” To learn more about A Nation in Motion campaign, or to read hundreds of patient stories or to submit your own story, visit ANationInMotion.org.Involved in EMS since 1975, and a paramedic since 1982, Dwight Polk is currently a volunteer paramedic in Maryland. He has held the position of Paramedic Program Director at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) since 1990. Prior to arriving at UMBC, Mr. Polk was a field paramedic and Education Coordinator at Acadian Ambulance Service in Lafayette , Louisiana.'In 1996, Mr. Polk completed his Master’s Degree in Occupational Social Work at UMBC; specializing in Employee Assistance Programs. As part of his clinical Master’s Degree, Mr. Polk participated in two specialized internships: first, providing psychotherapy to patients with head injuries at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore; and second, in an employee assistance program at the National Security Agency (NSA).'After receiving licensure as a social worker in the State of Maryland, Mr. Polk became active in the field of Critical Incident Stress, while studying under the mentorship of Jeffrey Mitchell, PhD, President Emeritus of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. Mr. Polk is still an active mental health professional for two CISM teams in the Baltimore area, and is a Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) instructor for the Howard County (MD) Mental Health Authority and Howard County Police Department.'Since February of 2005, Mr. Polk has held a contractual position as a mobile crisis team (MCT) member for the Grassroots 'Crisis Center in Columbia, Maryland. As an MCT member, he responds to various scenes to conduct crisis intervention for individuals and families, or psychiatric evaluations for emergency petition (72 hour emergency commitment).Jeffrey T. Mitchell, Ph.D., CTS, Clinical Professor of Emergency Health Services at the University of Maryland and President Emeritus of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. He taught elementary school science for three years. He earned his Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Maryland. After serving as a firefighter /paramedic he developed a comprehensive, systematic, integrated and multi-component crisis intervention program called “Critical Incident Stress Management.” He has authored over 250 articles and 10 books in the stress and crisis intervention fields. He serves as an adjunct faculty member of the Emergency Management Institute of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association and the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health. He has been honored by the Austrian Red Cross with the Bronze Medal for his work in Crisis Intervention. Dr. Mitchell is board certified in traumatic stress and credentialed as a Diplomate and a Member of the Board of Scientific and Professional Advisors of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. He has been approved as a Certified Trauma Specialist by the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists. The United Nations has appointed him to the United Nations Department of Safety and Security Working Group on Stress.