Chevron and Intermountain St. Mary’s Foundation each donated $25,000 to support the mental health needs of crews with CareFlight of the Rockies.

A total of $50,000 was awarded to the CareFlight of the Rockies critical incident stress management team to provide behavioral health support to first responders who handle life-threatening medical situations. CareFlight of the Rockies provides air ambulance services in western Colorado as well as eastern Utah and parts of New Mexico.

“The situations we as first responders encounter leave a lasting mark on us as caregivers,” said Kelly Thompson, a flight nurse and chief of operations for CareFlight of the Rockies. “In our smaller, rural communities, we’re often providing care for, and sometimes losing, people we know personally. And afterward, that can make an already traumatic situation we experience even more difficult emotionally.”

The critical incident stress management team is comprised of 10 first responders who provide focused debriefings and listening sessions after especially traumatic events.

“CareFlight is one of the most important components of this region’s medical response capabilities, and Chevron is proud to have supported this team for many years,” said Cary Baird, stakeholder engagement and social investment advisor for Chevron. The largest oil and natural gas producer in Colorado, the company employs about 1,000 people in the state.

“We now have an opportunity to dedicate our funding to the critical incident stress management team to ensure these dedicated caregivers receive the support and relief they need to deal with the incidents they witness on a regular basis,” Baird said.

Carmen Shipley, executive director of philanthropy for Intermountain St. Mary’s Foundation in Grand Junction, said the foundation matched the Chevron donation to provide for the next three years a licensed clinical counselor trained in first responder trauma therapy

The counselor will offer counseling as well as work with the stress management team to provide education, training and other resources to help first responders recognize and address behavioral health challenges in themselves and other team members.