25 Years Later: Serving Those Who Serve
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the courage and sacrifice of the public safety professionals who ran toward danger remain a powerful reminder of the responsibility they carry every day.
For athletic trainers who work with firefighters, law enforcement officers and other public safety personnel, that remembrance also highlights an important role within the profession: caring for those who dedicate their lives to caring for others.
Two members of the NATA Council on Practice Advancement Public Safety Panel – Chair Dan Herring, MS, ATC, CSC, and Kelsey Loftus, DAT, LAT, ATC – share what this work means to them.
Dan Herring, MS, ATC, CSCS
The heroic actions and selfless valor of public safety personnel 25 years ago today are what come to mind when I think about the events of 9/11. These individuals are made of the kind of stuff that inspires kids to want to be firefighters and police officers when they grow up.
As an athletic trainer in the public safety setting, I had the unique opportunity to serve these individuals. Those who daily put their own interests aside to commit to serve their communities and their fellow man. I may never know what it takes to run into a burning building instead of out of it or to run toward the collapsing building instead of away from it. But I know people who do. I’ve worked with them when their backs were hurting from carrying a self-contained breathing apparatus over a 25-year career, or when they injured their knee forcing open a door during a fire, or when their shoulder pain keeps them from picking up their daughter.
As an athletic trainer, we are afforded a unique opportunity: to serve those who serve. To provide them the care and empathy they so willingly give out to others on the worst days of their lives.
On this anniversary, I’m reminded yet again of what the men and women in our public safety settings sign up to do and count myself lucky to be able to serve them as they do the work that most cannot.
Kelsey Loftus, DAT, LAT, ATC
The 25th anniversary of 9/11 is meaningful to me not only as an athletic trainer, but because public safety has always been a part of my life. I’m the daughter of a police officer, the wife of a police officer and the sister of a firefighter. For the past four years, I have also had the privilege of working directly with firefighters and law enforcement professionals. These experiences have shaped my understanding of the important role athletic trainers can play in public safety.
To me, this anniversary represents how far our profession has come in recognizing that public safety professionals deserve specialized attention to their health and well-being. Police officers and firefighters place tremendous physical and mental demands on themselves, often working through fatigue, stress, pain and injury because the job doesn’t stop when they’re hurting.
As athletic trainers, we have an opportunity to provide more than injury care. We can focus on prevention, rehabilitation, education and building trust with the people we serve. Working with public safety professionals has shown me that our role is about understanding the unique demands of their jobs and helping them stay healthy, capable and ready to serve.
I am proud to be part of this profession and excited to see how athletic trainers will continue to support public safety over the next 25 years.
