news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Alan “Skip” Nix  credits his annual firefighter’s physical with finding his diabetes a few years ago.

The department has spent at least a decade working on improving health and wellness among its firefighters, including adding an annual physical fitness test, a workout room open 24 hours a day, and hiring Moses Cone Health System’s Occupational Health Department to take over yearly physicals four years ago .

“It’s been a very, very positive thing,” Nix said of the department’s focus on health and wellness for its nearly 500  uniformed firefighters.

For 45-year-old firefighter Frank Peacock, this year’s physical showed his cholesterol creeping up.

“I really appreciate the fact that the city does this,” he said. “I like going and seeing what’s going on from year to year.”

Every year, more than 50 percent  of line-of-duty deaths in the fire service are related to health and wellness issues, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters .

High blood pressure is one of the contributing factors in on-duty cardiovascular deaths among firefighters, the association reports. And nearly three out of four firefighters with high blood pressure do not have the condition adequately under control.

“I find folks with high cholesterol all the time and counsel and manage them,” said Dr. Mary Ruth Hunt , who oversees the Greensboro Fire Department exams.

She has no data from before her time working with the department.

But since Moses Cone stepped in, Greensboro firefighters are doing better than the general population and other fire departments in controlling obesity, a leading cause of other health issues such as heart disease, she said.

Still, there’s room for improvement.

“The biggest thing that I yell at them about is their weight,” Hunt said.

Although firefighters must pass a physical abilities test to be hired, they do not have to meet any requirements to remain on duty, Nix said.

However, there have been instances where firefighters have been moved to less physically demanding assignments because of health concerns, he said.

Hunt has tried to focus on improving the eating habits of firefighters. She had restaurant nutritional guides placed at each station and has recommended that “Vegetarian Monday” be added as a healthful counterpoint to the firefighters’ traditional “Hot Dog Saturday.”

“They’re a very social group. They like to cook. They like to eat,” Hunt said.

And our society loves to say thank you with food.

“Everybody loves the fireman,” Hunt said. “There’s always people coming by giving them cakes and pies and doughnuts.”

But firefighters are trying to do a better job, said firefighter Thaddeus Sturdivant, 34 .

“We have cut down on fried foods,” he said. “We don’t fry foods as much. We bake it or grill it.”

Sturdivant, a firefighter for five years, believes the focus on health will help him stay longer in a job that he loves.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” he said. “It’s a rewarding job when you can go out and help the community.”
 

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com