Hospital-led SAMHSA training completes; county to host TEEX senior officials workshop Feb. 4

A hospital representative told the board that a SAMHSA-funded mental health resilience training for first responders was held last week and that 38 participants completed the course.

The presenter said the course — a nationally recognized program through the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians — yielded strong feedback and that participants opted to start a first-responder peer support group that will meet monthly in a neutral location. “One of the comments was ‘not at all what I was expecting, but exactly what I needed,’” the presenter said, summarizing course evaluations.

The presenter also reviewed upcoming FEMA-funded trainings delivered by TEEX (Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service). The county will host a TEEX senior officials workshop focused on an all-hazards response during the first 96 hours of an incident on Tuesday, Feb. 4 (scheduled 9 a.m.–3 p.m. in the presenter’s description). The presenter said other trainings are planned later in the year, including cybersecurity training in April and an incident management course in June.

The presenter noted the TEEX class requires a minimum registration to run (the transcript cited a target of 35 participants and reported 27 registered as of the prior Friday) and encouraged officials and agency staff to register directly at teex.org (searching for the county name) to ensure the course will proceed.

No funding action was recorded at the meeting; the presenter said grant deliverables tied to SAMHSA were complete and that additional grant funding approvals for the year were expected.