Wellness-Fitness Metropolitan Dade County, FL

IAFF Local	Metropolitan Dade County Association of Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 1403
District	12
Department	Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department
Members	2,600 All Career
Contact Information	Denise Paganacci [email protected] Brandy Paternoster [email protected]

Approach

The preliminary work on the wellness center concept began in 2001 as key personnel from Metro-Dade County Fire and Rescue (MDFR), Metro-Dade Local 1403 and the Metro-Dade Fire Fighter’s Health Project participated on Task Force and Technical subcommittees of the Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness Fitness Initiative. The charge of these committees was to devise a comprehensive wellness and fitness program that could be implemented, in a cost-effective fashion, within fire-rescue departments of various sizes and diverse financial means. After great effort, these various committees devised a program that is 1) cost effective, 2) will prevent disease and disability and 3) will improve employee morale.

The MDFR Wellness Center began operations in 2003 under the auspice of the Local 1403 to provide comprehensive health and wellness initiatives to its fire fighters. The Center has transitioned from the sole auspice of Local 1403 to a joint partnership between the Metro-Dade Fire and Rescue Department and Local 1403. The MDFR Wellness Center is a not-for-profit corporation governed by a board of directors comprised of three Local 1403 representatives, three MDFR representatives and the Miami-Dade County Director of GSA Risk Management.

The MDFR Wellness Center provides these broad service components: 1) Medical, by administering pre-employment physicals to all fire fighter applicants and annual physicals to incumbent fire fighters and serving as a primary care center for fire fighters and their dependents; 2) Rehabilitation serving as a Worker’s Compensation Center while providing physical therapy services; and 3) providing wellness efforts through fitness and nutritional outreach efforts.

The MDFR determined that the best approach to promote to their members the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the need to stay fit was to go out to the stations and offer assistance from the wellness coordinators. It found promoting fitness directly to members is the best way to get their buy-in to the program.

Medical

Facility	MDFR Wellness Center
Physician	Two from the University of Miami
Additional Staff	One Physical Therapist from the University of Miami Three Medical Assistants One Exercise Physiologist One Dietitian Two Front Desk Staff Four Support Staff from Miami-Dade County
Exam Frequency	Annual
Exam Details	MDFR Medical Protocols

Fitness

IAFF/IAFC PFTs	10
Duties	Post daily Workout of the Day
Exercise Time	On duty if time permits
Exercise Program	“Get Fit” Challenge Crossfit seminar Exercise Challenges FITNESS ZONE intranet – members post monthly circuits, fitness articles, list of PFTs, upcoming fitness events, WFI information Physical Therapy program
Equipment	Treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, weights and Smith Machine at each station
Nutrition	Registered Dietician; Online wellness resource for nutrition and recipes provided to members