Health Week Tools and Resources

Use these resources to promote National Firefighter Health Week in your department and your community.

 

Adopt the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program in your department to gain access to many resources to help you live a healthier life. These include the Fired Up For Fitness Challenge, health risk assessment tools, meal planners, exercise ideas, resources for implementing and funding a department health and wellness initiative, and much more. Register to adopt the program at www.healthy-firefighter.org/atp. Then have all of your members sign the Department Pledge to get and stay healthy. Submit the Pledge to the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program with 100% department compliance and each member of your department will receive a special pin to recognize your commitment to heart-health. This is a great way to celebrate National Firefighter Health Week.

 

 

Download the 2010 National Firefighter Health Week Poster and hang it up in your fire station to motivate personnel to focus on their health and wellness during Health Week and beyond.

 

 

 

The National Volunteer Fire Council’s Health and Safety Committee created a B.E.S.T. Practices poster to distribute the Volunteer Firefighter Health and Safety Priorities to fire and emergency service departments. Hang it up in your fire station to remind personnel of important health and safety best practices that all members should follow. Click here to learn more about the B.E.S.T. Practices and to order a printed copy of the poster.

 

 

Post these web banners to your fire department’s web site homepage and link it to the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program web site or to your department’s own Health Week page to alert personnel and the public about this important event.

 

 

Use this ad in your department newsletter, pass out as a flyer to department members, or hang on department bulletin boards.

 

Health Week Ad

 

Let your community know about National Firefighter Health Week and your department’s health and wellness initiatives. Use this customizable template to help you develop a press release to distribute to your local media outlets.

 

 

Use these talking points when talking to the media, public, and your department members about National Firefighter Health Week and the importance of firefighter health and wellness.

 

 

This toolkit takes you through the steps needed to identify, reach out to, and follow up with potential sponsors and donors of a department health and wellness program. The toolkit contains sample letters and customizable templates to make reaching out to and following up with sponsors even easier. It also includes tips, talking points, and ideas to help departments through the process. To access this resource and many more, adopt the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program at www.healthy-firefighter.org/atp.

 

 

The National Volunteer Fire Council teamed up with Firehouse.com to release podcasts on a variety of health topics. Listen to these podcasts to find out what you and your department can do to get and stay healthy.

 

Behavioral Health (2009)

Ron Siarnicki, Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, explains why behavior health is especially important for first responders and looks at some new initiatives in the area of behavioral health in the emergency services.

 

Heart-Health (2009)

Heather Leader of the American Heart Association (AHA) talks AHA Start! program and steps you can take to improve your heart-health. 

 

Healthy Eating Tips (2009)

This five-minute podcast featuring NVFC Health and Safety Project Coordinator Lillian Ricardo contains ideas for quick snacks and healthier food substitutions as well as why healthy eating habits are important for firefighters and additional tips for making healthy eating achievable.

 

Fitness Podcast (2009)

Ken Viglio of L&T Health and Fitness provides fitness tips designed specifically for firefighters.

 

Health Screenings (2009)

In this five-minute podcast, Gail Fast of L&T Health and Fitness discusses the importance of regular health screenings and the types of screenings recommended for different age groups. L&T Health and Fitness provides the health screenings at the NVFC’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter trade show booth.

 

Adopt the Program Podcast (2009)

Lillian Ricardo, NVFC Health and Safety Project Coordinator, describes the benefits of adopting the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program and the many tools and resources available through this initiative to help your department keep it strong all year long.

 

National Firefighter Health Week 2008 Podcast (2008)

This 45-minute podcast features expert advice, resources, tips, and success stories centering on the important health topics that National Firefighter Health Week 2008 brought into focus: behavioral health, nutrition, heart-health, respiratory/lung health, and diabetes. Resources highlighted in the podcast include: