The Compass Center

10/21/2026

🚒 Exciting News from The Compass Center!

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Frankfort Fire & EMS to support the mental health and wellness of their first responders!

Through this partnership, The Compass Center will provide annual wellness visits for all employees, along with specialized training for command staff on recognizing mental health concerns and supporting the well-being of their teams.

This partnership represents another important step in our mission to promote mental wellness, build resilience, and encourage a culture of prevention among first responders throughout Kentucky.

We are also incredibly grateful for our ongoing partnerships with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, Woodford County EMS, Franklin County Fire Department, and Oldham County EMS.

These agencies are doing more than simply providing mental health resources. They are helping create a culture where asking for help is a sign of strength, mental wellness is a priority, and prevention is just as important as intervention.

We believe that taking care of those who take care of our communities is not just important—it's essential.

We are honored to be part of this work and excited to see this movement continue to grow across Kentucky!

10/19/2026

I wish every police department in Kentucky had some version of this!

The idea for center grew from a clear realization: Traditional approaches to police wellness were not enough.

https://www.police1.com/health-wellness/how-louisville-built-a-police-wellness-center-officers-actually-use?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

10/16/2026

📞 911 telecommunicators are first responders too, and the psychological toll of their work deserves greater attention.

A 2026 study examined trauma exposure, sleep, posttraumatic stress symptoms, secondary traumatic stress, burnout, compassion satisfaction, and mental health needs among 358 emergency telecommunicators.

🔎 Key findings:

• About one-third screened positive for possible PTSD.

• Most participants reported moderate secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction.

• Sleep dysfunction was associated with higher PTSD symptoms, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout, along with lower compassion satisfaction.

• More weekly work hours were associated with greater PTSD symptoms.

• Satisfaction with scheduling, salary, training, and vacation access was more closely related to well-being than the objective conditions themselves.

• Participants identified the need for better staffing, time off, workplace culture, leadership support, work-life balance, and access to clinicians who understand emergency communications.

Why does this matter?

The first responder role begins before police, fire, or EMS arrive. Telecommunicators hear the crisis, guide callers through emergencies, and remain connected to traumatic events from behind the headset.

Supporting them requires more than encouraging individual resilience. Agencies should address workload, sleep, staffing, leadership, workplace respect, and confidential access to specialized mental health care.

This was a cross-sectional study, and the screening tools do not provide clinical diagnoses. The findings show important associations, not proof that one factor directly caused another.

911 telecommunicators deserve the same recognition, support, and wellness resources as other first responders.

What changes would make the greatest difference for telecommunicator wellness?

Reference:

O’Connell, K. L., Moreira, N., Barnette, B., Lin, Y.-C., Doerr, S., & Marks, R. (2026). The first, first responder: Navigating trauma, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. Traumatology, 32(1), 86–96.

10/07/2026

09/28/2026

The Lexington affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is accepting enrollment for the upcoming Family & Friends seminar, which aims to inform and support family and friends of individuals affected by mental health conditions.

Participants learn about diagnoses, treatment options, communication skills, coping and self-care strategies, crisis preparation, and NAMI and community resources. As a result of attending the class, family members report feeling better equipped to interact with and advocate for their loved ones.

This free class is taught by two trained family members who have firsthand experience living with a family member who has a mental illness. The three-session Family & Friends seminar will be offered in person at Eastern State Hospital and via Zoom on October 28th, and November 4th and 11th from 6:30-8:30 pm. Enrollment is required; to enroll, click here, call NAMI Lexington at 859-272-7891, or email [email protected].

09/22/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMKIAy-C8bA

fHow does EMDR work? Can it help me? // EMDR can definitely help if...

09/07/2026

Rest is the prescription, not the reward

09/01/2026

It was an honor to talk about our work with first responders at the Kentucky Association of Addiction Professionals annual conference.