SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Fire Department has become the first fire department in the nation to earn certification as a trauma-informed care agency.
The designation follows an extensive certification process, a milestone department leaders say reflects a broader commitment to understanding and responding to trauma in the communities they serve, KSAT reported.
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As part of the certification process, the Ecumenical Center in San Antonio spent more than a year evaluating the fire department, as Chief Charles Hood’s successor, Chief Craig Westerhoff, and SAFD leadership worked to develop new policies governing how personnel interact with both the public and one another.
The Ecumenical Center is the only organization in the country authorized by a national board to certify agencies and companies as trauma-informed.
More than 40 organizations in San Antonio have already been certified, with about 40 more in the process, and additional certifications have been completed elsewhere in Texas and out of state.
The certified organizations span a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, education, faith-based groups, government agencies such as Metro Health, the San Antonio Police Department and the San Antonio Fire Department, as well as foster care organizations and nonprofits.
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