For more than 30 years Deborah has been diagnosing and treating first responders. These years of clinical experience have given Deborah specialists a unique perspective on evaluating and treating those professionals who work in difficult, stressful, and dangerous situations every day.

Know Your Risk Factors

The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that first responders have higher occupational hazards with well-documented health effects. For example, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reports that police officers have the poorest cardiovascular disease profile of any occupation.

According to interventional cardiologist Daniel Ice, MD, Medical Director of Deborah’s First Responder Assessment Program, the taxing elements of the work contributes to health problems.

“These jobs are physically and emotionally demanding,” he said. “There is also dangerous work, heavy uniforms, stress, dehydration, exposure to toxins, and other occupational hazards. Added to this are lifestyle and health issues like smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, eating ‘on the run’ and high blood pressure. These are all a recipe for disaster for emergency personnel’s health.”

A Tailor-Made Assessment

Dr. Ice heads up a team at Deborah led by board certified cardiologists and pulmonologists. Each first responder health assessment appointment includes an in-depth review of individual risk factors, job-related risks, a cardiac medical evaluation, an EKG, comprehensive fasting blood work, a pulmonary function test, and evaluations for sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, and peripheral arterial disease.

“We pride ourselves on putting together a confidential, comprehensive profile of your personal health and risks,” added Dr. Ice. “With this assessment in hand our team will put together an individually-tailored wellness plan to guide you moving forward.”

“I cannot underscore enough the importance for first responders to get a baseline cardiac and pulmonary check-up. We know that the extraordinary amount of job-related stress factors can negatively impact one’s health.  Early detection and intervention is the best way to prevent heart attacks, progressive heart disease, uncontrolled diabetes, and a range of other conditions that can seriously affect your quality of life.”

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please fill out a request appointment form or call toll free (833) 227-3996.