Missouri opens registration for free health and wellness conference for first responders

2-day conference with seminars on stress, traumatic events, health and wellness is designed to build resilience among first responders

JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Department of Public Safety will host a free two-day First Responders Health & Wellness Conference at the Lake of the Ozarks this fall. Because first responders face stresses and are exposed to traumatic events that do not come with other professions, the unique conference will focus on improving health and well-being for members of the fire service, law enforcement, EMS, dispatchers, corrections officers, and first-responder agency chaplains.

“Supporting Missouri first responders is an important part of our public safety priorities, including helping them build resilience to deal with the pressures and strains they can face because of the nature of their work,” Governor Mike Parson said. “This health and wellness conference will bring together a lineup of experts to provide practical guidance in dealing with traumatic events, building peer-support teams and balancing family life with their careers.”

“Under Governor Parson’s leadership, our public safety funding has moved beyond equipment and tactical training to include supporting first responder mental health and wellness,” Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten said. “In 2022, DPS launched a free first responder critical incident stress management training program to help build peer-support teams across the state. This conference will help bolster this critical support of Missouri’s first responders.”

A brief video highlighting the Critical Incident Stress Management training program is available here.

Registration for the free conference, which includes meals for attendees and lodging for those who reside over 60 miles from the conference site, has opened for up to 300 first responders. The conference will be held Oct. 24-25, 2024, at the Lodge of the Four Seasons, 315 Four Seasons Drive, Lake Ozark, MO 65049. Conference check-in is on the afternoon of Oct. 23, with lodging provided the 23rd and 24th. The conference is open to law enforcement, the fire service, EMS, dispatchers, corrections officers and chaplains.