Last week, Lehigh Valley Health Network hosted an event for EMS and first responder partners to pick up sensory bags, which are part of a network-wide strategy to better serve community members with sensory or behavioral health issues. The bags include items like noise-reducing earmuffs, weighted blankets, and nonverbal cue cards.
Sensory bags originated in Michigan in 2019, when a detective realized the importance of tools for police, firefighters, and EMS workers to work more effectively at a scene with a child with autism or similar processing difficulties.
Although these bags were originally created to help children on the autism spectrum, they have the ability to help “any child in a stressful situation who is dealing with anxiety, depression or trauma,” says Keith Micucci, CRNP, Chief Operating Officer at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg and Administrator of Emergency Medical Services.
LVHN received support from the community to put together 175 bags and distribute them to EMS partners in Lehigh, Northampton, and Monroe Counties.
The three counties also participate in LVHN’s Blue Envelope Program, which was introduced last year. Through the initiative, drivers on the autism spectrum or with communication challenges can carry a blue envelope in their vehicle, which they can give to police officers during traffic stops to explain the program, indicate if the driver is verbal or nonverbal, and offer tips for a smooth interaction on both ends.
Around 21 EMS stations attended last week’s event to pick up sensory bags. LVHN will be distributing more bags to teams that weren’t present.
LVHN hopes initiatives like this will lead to more understanding and awareness, and is working to provide “simple yet powerful tools that can dramatically change the outcome of a situation and the lasting effects it may have.”
