2022 ANNUAL REPORT-Final

63

EMERGENCY SERVICES

Safety Office (continued)

Health and Wellness

Frederick County DFRS is fortunate and proud to partner with O2X Human Performance, a training and education company specializing in customized programs for the tactical population. Emergency responders are considered tactical athletes in the world of health and fitness. By partnering with O2X we have a human performance specialist, Kayla Stoneback, embedded in the department. Kayla and O2X work with all our responders, from recruits in the training academy, to veteran firefighters working in stations around the county, to improve their overall health and fitness. In 2022, the county’s workers compensation carrier provided an analysis to better understand the financial impact of the O2X program on our department. The numbers were staggering. In the two fiscal years prior to starting the O2X program (FY18 and FY19), the department incurred an average cost per year of $1,053,670 for workplace injuries. Since partnering with O2X we have seen a significant cost savings year over year. In FY20 we partnered with O2X mid-year, and our total cost incurred for the year was $690,231, for FY21 our total cost incurred was $549,655. Not only is that a significant cost savings for Frederick County, the severity of injury and work time lost has lessened for our personnel. 2022 was highly focused on annual O2X Readiness Assessment testing that was offered to all of employees. The Readiness Assessment leverages validated mental and physical survey questions, paired with practical movement assessments for mobility, stability, and capacity. This process identifies asymmetries or weaknesses as compared to normative standards and identifies opportunities to lower the risk of illness or injury. O2X also continued to support our training academy staff with the daily physical training (PT) of recruits during our recruit training academies.

As the department continues to grow, O2X continues to provide top-tier services to support that growth, and Kayla remains available to assist all our personnel with their health and fitness needs.