Phoenix Police Department employees can receive health insurance through the City of Phoenix. The City of Phoenix offers an HMO through Banner/Aetna and PPO and HSA through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. The City of Phoenix also provides other health resources such as dental, vision, pharmacy, and more. The City of Phoenix offers a wellness incentive that can save employees up to $720 a year when the employee and spouse/qualified domestic partner complete a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) by listing specific biometric data. The City of Phoenix recognizes that mental health is as essential to well-being as physical health. The medical plans cover office visits with licensed psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and outpatient and in-patient programs for specific needs. The HMO plan offers a copay of $10 for all in-network providers, and the PPO and HSA have no copays once the deductible is met (City of Phoenix 2021 Employee Benefits Guide).
The City of Phoenix has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided through ComPsych. The City of Phoenix EAP is provided for all full-time employees, except for those with the Phoenix Fire Department, who has EAP services through a different company. The EAP program provides 12 counseling sessions for each employee and each individual in their household per incident per year. Employees can also utilize the EAP program through EAU or by contacting the EAP provider themselves. EAU detectives regularly instruct employees on the EAP and how employees can benefit themselves or their families. The Phoenix Police Department utilizes the EAP more than the rest of the city combined. The Phoenix Police Department is currently working with City of Phoenix Human Resources staff to allow retired police officers access to EAP services for up to 12 months after their retirement. In addition to counseling services, EAP through ComPsych also provides elder care and expert information on thousands of topics, including wellness, relationships, work, education, legal, financial, lifestyle, and more (City of Phoenix 2021 Employee Benefits Guide).
AZ House Bill 2502, also called the Traumatic Event Counseling Program or Officer Craig Tiger Act, went into effect in August 2018. The bill was authored as a Treatment Bill, allowing sworn police officers and firefighters involved in one of six qualified incidents to receive up to 36 counseling sessions with a licensed mental health provider. The sessions can be attended on duty, and overtime will be used if there are coverage issues while the police officer or firefighter is attending a session. The counseling sessions and overtime are taxpayer-funded and paid by the police officer or firefighter’s employer. The bill also mandates employers report specific statistical information, allowing for accurate statistics and a better understanding of PTSD and public safety (Traumatic event counseling for public safety employees, 2018).
EAU personnel regularly meet with behavioral health specialists who offer in-patient, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient (IOP), and individualized counseling for suicide, substance abuse, or any other mental health issue needed. EAU meets with all behavioral health specialists they recommend and will not recommend someone they have not met with or was not referred by the Department’s contracted behavioral health team, CPR. EAU meets with the behavioral health specialists to ensure they have experience working with law enforcement and or other public safety to ensure the services will be covered by medical insurance or EAP, and the atmosphere of the office and facility is not going to scare away police officers. This has been an issue when admitting officers for in-patient treatment. Most of the therapy involves group therapy, and officers do not want to open up around someone they may have just arrested. EAU sets up a back-door entrance for Phoenix Police employees at most facilities, so employees are not sitting in the lobby and do not have to worry about being recognized. EAU found many specialists claim to have experience or plans expressly set up for law enforcement personnel. Yet, during these site visits and meetings, the specialists or facilities were not found to have any law enforcement experience. Knowing the cost of services before an employee begins treatment is essential also, as EAU does not want employees to be further stressed by an unexpected medical bill after treatment. It is also vital to determine if the treatment provider will fill out FMLA paperwork for the employee, as EAU has found some providers will not fill out the necessary FMLA paperwork. Taking the time to meet with these specialists has been of great assistance. Over the last five years, EAU has assisted annually approximately ten department employees or their family members with voluntary in-patient services for mental health or substance abuse. Privacy and confidentiality are essential factors in employees requesting behavioral health services. The Phoenix Police Department encourages employees to seek the mental health services needed, without fear that seeking services will hurt the employee’s career going forward.
EAU personnel not only meet with behavioral health specialists, but they also meet with all the hospitals near Phoenix, and especially the Level I Trauma Hospitals, to build relationships and prepare for an employee being critically injured. These relationships have been vital not only for employees injured at work, but when employees experience strokes, heart attacks, cancer, or other health-related severe issues, as hospital staff has been professionally accommodating to department needs. EAU’s work into building these relationships over the last five years became crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the Department had one officer killed in the line of duty, several critically injured, and another pass away due to a medical condition.
Before 2016, the Phoenix Police Department did not have a policy reference response to hospitals when an employee was critically injured. There was no consistency in the Department’s response, as many times, hundreds of officers would flood the hospital waiting for information on their peers. This overwhelming response of officers made it difficult for hospitals to care for the critically injured officer, other patients, and their loved ones. The Department had a group of employees come together to author a policy providing direction for supervisors, officers, and other department employees on a response when an employee is critically injured. The policy limits the number of employees allowed in the trauma room to only those with an investigative function (Operations Orders, 2020). EAU worked with hospital staff at all of the Level I Trauma Hospitals to identify an area where the critically injured employee’s family can be together and an area for those who work closely with the employee. A place outside or in another building away from the trauma/emergency room will be set up for all other department employees who wish to respond (Operations Orders, 2020). Since the policy was put into place, it has been shared with all local hospitals and many other law enforcement agencies.