The Utah Firefighter Cancer Initiative (UFCI) is pleased to announce that we have officially begun screening firefighters at our Utah Firefighter Health & Wellness Center in Salt Lake City. As of Monday, Oct. 13, 22 firefighters had completed the screening process, with nearly two dozen more in process.
However, as with any undertaking as significant as what we are aiming to accomplish, unanticipated problems invariably arise. And it takes time to identify and address them. We will continually evaluate and improve operations and communication and have set a goal of operating with maximum efficiency by Jan. 1 (though we are confident that we will reach that goal much sooner).
With that in mind, we would like to provide clarity regarding a few of our key processes and our efforts to optimize them:
- Selection Process
As our screening capacity is limited to ~500 firefighters annually, UFCI has implemented a process to prioritize firefighters based on estimated cancer risk (as determined by a combination of age, years of service, and service type [wildland, volunteer, full-time, part-time]).
We have used those criteria to identify and rank the first group of 1,000 firefighters to be offered screening slots and have begun scheduling firefighters. It has come to our attention, however, that we have invited some firefighters out of sequence. This occurred partially due to an inadvertent double counting of some firefighters’ service time, as well as due to firefighters’ proximity to testing sites. Going forward, we will be diligent about ensuring invites accurately reflect the criteria (see more below) that we have set forth regarding estimated cancer risk.
- Risk Profile
Some departments have only provided us with the current tenure of their employees rather than their firefighters’ comprehensive service time. The spreadsheet that departments provide us should reflect each firefighter's total tenure in the fire service. For assistance with this matter, contact Jolene Chamberlain (UFRA), Farmington Chief Shelby Willis (UFCI Screening Test Protocol Committee Chair), or UFRA Director Brad Wardle (UFCI Chair). We will provide support to ensure the data are accurate. After corrections are made, we will update our database and recalculate our risk analysis. Also, data updates will be required annually so UFCI can maintain an accurate list of personnel, reflecting changes such as retirements or new hires within each department or agency.
- Providing Results
Our initial aim was for firefighters to complete testing in the morning and discuss results with UFCI Medical Director Dr. Kurt Hegmann or one of our two other board-certified occupational medicine doctors in the afternoon, all within one day. This is currently not feasible due to our need to utilize external providers for the MRI and CT scan portions of the screening. UFCI staff will soon establish a schedule and notify participants of their testing and results discussion dates. Firefighters who are either in the Wasatch Front area or wish to make more than one trip will be given the option to obtain the MRI and CT scan ahead of their visit to our Health & Wellness Center so that results can be discussed at that visit. Those who receive those tests on the same day as their visit to our Health & Wellness Clinic, and thus are unable to receive their results that day, will have the option to either receive the results via videoconference or return to the clinic for a follow-up appointment.
- Communication with Firefighters
Chiefs will receive our list of the first 1,000 firefighters we have identified for screening. When a firefighter’s position is reached, UFCI will make numerous attempts to contact the firefighter, through each of the following methods: personal and fire department email addresses, personal phone number, and the individual’s fire chief’s email.
- Cancellation and No-Show Policy
Due to time constraints, resource limitations, and the cost of screenings, cancellations or no-shows will result in the firefighter being removed from the UFCI screening selection list for one year.
UFCI is tremendously grateful for your trust, patience, and support as we have built this screening program in the months since the Utah Legislature voted to provide the funding for the program in March. We are proud of the enormous strides we have made in a short time to launch the program and begin screening firefighters.
In the coming weeks and months, we will continue to refine our processes and work with departments to ensure we provide an elite level of service and best fulfill a mission in which we are honored to be involved: saving the lives of as many firefighters as possible.
Sincerely,
Bradley Wardle
Chair, UFCI
Director, Utah Fire and Rescue Academy
Jeremy Craft
Fire Chief, Lehi Fire Department
Vice President, Western Fire Chiefs
Clint Smith
Fire Chief, Draper City Fire Department
President, Utah Fire Chiefs Association
Kurt Hegmann, MD
Director, Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health