Critical Incident Response Team

616/455-9200 or 800/678-5500

Quickjump to:
Businesses

The Problem
The Solution
The Proceedure
The Cost

The Problem
The Solution
The Proceedure

Businesses

The Problem

• an employee has a heart attack in the break room
• an accident injures or kills workers
• a staff member commits suicide
• a disgruntled ex-employee holds staff hostage
• violent threats occur during down-sizing

Tragedies happen. They're often sudden. And organizations are seldom prepared to deal with the emotional impact on the people involved. When an unusual event happens to normal people, it can affect their ability to do their jobs. The result can ultimately mean lost production. To avoid that, employees need a chance to "debrief" and deal with the trauma.

The definition of a "Critical Incident" varies for each organization. However, industry standards define it as:

• Any unforeseen accident, violence, or threat that an individual witnesses that has resulted or could result in that person suffering extreme mental anguish.
• Any incident that will likely result in those involved experiencing significant emotional disturbance, including post-traumatic stress.

The Solution
Research shows that witnesses to a traumatic event who are involved in the debriefing process recover faster and better. Pine Rest's Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) helps witnesses to tragedy work through the event so they can get back to the business of doing business.

All CIRT members receive special training in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. Disciplines available include social work, psychology, nursing, education, and chaplaincy.

The Procedure
The employer, human resource director, or other authorized representative from your organization starts the process with a call to the Critical Incident Response Team coordinator. Together, they'll decide the best way to handle the incident based on the size of the group and the severity of the trauma.
Phone consultation with a CIRT member is available 24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week. The team can be at your business between 24-72 hours after the critical incident.

CIRT members help employees involved with the critical incident:

• deal with the facts
• begin to process their feelings
• learn what normal reactions they can expect to experience

After the initial visit, the CIRT provides follow-up. They can meet with employees as a group or individuals. They will recommend further counseling or professional help, if necessary. CIRT members also provide consultation to authorities in the weeks following an event to insure continued progress for employees.

The Cost
Prevention is the key to insure your staff handles a tragic incident. The Pine Rest Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) is available to help your employees. Although incidents and employee needs vary, the average debriefing is two hours. Cost for a debriefing is $150 per hour, per clinician, and usually includes the services of two CIRT members.

Back to the top of the page.

Churches & Schools

The Problem

• a student commits suicide
• a church building burns
• a teacher is arrested for sexual abuse
• a parishioner has a heart attack during a service

Tragedies happen. They're often sudden. And organizations are seldom prepared to deal with the emotional impact on the people involved.

When an unusual event happens to normal people, it can affect their ability to function in their everyday lives. They need a chance to "debrief" and deal with the trauma. The definition of a "Critical Incident" varies for each organization. However, industry standards define it as:

• Any unforeseen accident, violence, or threat that an individual witnesses that has resulted or could result in that person suffering extreme mental anguish.
• Any incident that will likely result in those involved experiencing significant emotional disturbance, including post-traumatic stress.

The Solution
Research shows that witnesses to a traumatic event who are involved in the debriefing process recover faster and better. Pine Rest's Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) helps witnesses to tragedy work through the event. All CIRT members receive special training in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. Disciplines available include social work, psychology, nursing, education, and chaplaincy.

The Procedure
The human resource director, principal, minister, or other authorized representative from your organization starts the process with a call to the Critical Incident Response Team coordinator. Together, they'll decide the best way to handle the incident based on the size of the group and the severity of the trauma.

Phone consultation with a Critical Incident Response Team member is available 24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week. The team can be at your school or church between 24-72 hours after the critical incident.

Critical Incident Response Team members help witnesses involved with the critical incident:

• deal with the facts
• begin to process their feelings
• learn what normal reactions they can expect to experience

After the initial visit, the Critical Incident Response Team provides follow-up. They can meet with a group or individuals. They will recommend further counseling or professional help, if necessary. Critical Incident Response Team members also provide consultation in the weeks following an event to insure continued progress for students, faculty, parishioners, and staff.

If you would like more information, please call 616. 281.6305.

Back to the top of the page.