Disasters and tragedies, both large and small, happen everyday.  One of the most important responsibilities we have as a community mental health center is to help individuals and communities cope with the aftermath of accidents and traumas. 

Yesterday, 6/24/10, one of our communities (Russell) experienced a tragic accident at a grain elevator.  Sadly, two young men lost their lives.  After receiving preliminary reports of this tragedy, Ken Loos; Manager of Community Prevention, Education and Outreach contacted a local Emergency Manager.  A request for assistance was relayed from the incident commander (John Quinday, Russell Chief of Police) as family members and friends of the victims were beginning to gather.  Ken and Amy Bird, Assistant Clinical Director of Community Support Services, traveled to the site of the accident.

During the course of three hours, Ken and Amy met with three separate groups:  high school friends and classmates of one of the victims, coworkers/friends of both victims, and first responders (fire, EMS, law enforcement). 

All discussions are confidential and are designed to help people understand the process of dealing with a tragedy.  Information was given on some of the most common responses:

• Emotional—anger, anxiety, depression, guilt, grief, and numbness.
• Physical—nausea, weakness, fatigue, headaches, and sleep disturbances.
• Behavioral—Social withdrawal, neglect of interests/hobbies, and increased use of alcohol.
• Cognitive—blaming, confusion, association or memories of other losses or tragedies, and preoccupation of the event.
• Spiritual—anger/questioning beliefs or faith, loss of meaning or purpose, and sense of isolation. 

All participants were reminded that dealing with a tragedy takes time and everyone deals with it differently.  People were encouraged to seek out additional assistance from family physicians, members of the faith community, appropriate colleagues, and High Plains MHC as needed. 

Although it is always difficult to respond to situations like this, we hope that our presence and guidance helped the recovery process.  It also reminds us of one of the best reasons to live in Northwestern Kansas; when tragedy strikes, agencies and organizations from all around the area are quick to respond and work together.

Ken Loos, MS, LMLP, LCP
Manager; Community Prevention, Education, and Outreach

For more information on dealing with death in the workplace and critical incident stress, please see our attached informational PDFs.

death-at-work.pdf [45.4 KB]
critical-incident-stress.pdf [291.9 KB]