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quasi-peer as well as a credentialed mental health professional. There is no FAA requirement for emergency preparedness,
The organization is confident with the level of mental health but over the years, the airport manager has fully developed an
assistance their employee is receiving as it is simply more than emergency plan for the airport, and has, in cooperation with
psychological first-aid administered by a lay person. the city-operated fire department, held a full-scale disaster
Employees appear to benefit from this plan for many rea- scenario.
sons. The EAP contractor is involved in training scenarios, Upon the second fatal general aviation airplane crash, this
management briefings, and on scene work. The EAP con- airport director had a desire to become more cohesive with
tractor is seamlessly involved in the employees work expe- the responders within the jurisdiction, the airport manager
rience, and as such, the value lies in the EAP contractor approached the city fire chief, and the chief agreed that this
being able to "check-in" with employees during the course individual would greatly benefit from firefighting and res-
of work, after hours, and in an office setting if necessary. An cue training. The airport manger began training with the fire
appointment two weeks down the road in a professional set- department and is now a fully certified member of the city
ting is often-times unneeded, due to the mental health aid fire department, in addition to being the airport manager.
that was given in the field, when requested, or when it is most Over the past few years, the airport manager has been
appropriate. responding to the same calls as the fire department and build-
The EAP information is also housed on an internal web- ing camaraderie and trust with the fire department employees.
page for the organization's employees. If the employee accessed The airport manager has responded to house fires, automo-
the intranet, then EAP information for a variety of issues is bile incidents, and fatalities. This extensive training and the
easily accessed. The EAP has become embedded in the orga- response to traumatic events has enabled the airport manager
nization, which may make it more cost-effective, in that the to become personally resilient in the face of traumatic events.
organization is able to retain its highly trained workforce in While building this trust and connectedness with the city fire
face of traumatic events. department, the airport manager decided to build a training
A less than obvious benefit of having an external EAP is the scenario for the airport and the fire department which involved
issue of confidentiality. This organization feels that having an a supposed aircraft incident (as required for a FAR Part 139
outside vendor allows the employee increased anonymity commercial service airport) and with the approval of the fire
with accessing mental health support. There is a built-in chief, ran the incident at the airport. This exercise enabled the
barrier between the management and the provider as well. fire fighters to become familiar with response activities sur-
The EAP contractor is also able to help an employee's fam- rounding aviation and the need for site preservation for the
ily and encourage self-care for the employees. It is hoped that NTSB or FAA.
this creates an atmosphere of employee resiliency where the The airport manager has been able to determine the direc-
employee knows the stigma of mental health support has been tion of personal needs in order to build internal strength
erased. Accessing the EAP is encouraged and supported by and resilience while affiliating with a group and receive group
the entire organization. Using this model of assistance, the resilience, all the while under the guise of organizational
organization hopes to demonstrate that each person in the resilience from the city. Being a singular employee at the air-
organization is valued by allowing and encouraging each port can be a daunting, yet exciting proposition. However,
employee to build their own resiliency; then the work of the when traumatic events occur, people need to have a support
entire group is less burdensome. network and a feeling of connectedness.
By seeking additional training from the fire department,
this airport manager began building resilience on an indi-
5. Home Grown Resilience
vidual level. With the advanced training, this manager then
The following case study is taken from an in-depth interview began to build trusting and cohesive relationships within the
with an airport manager with fifteen years experience, twelve fire department, exemplifying group resilience. In the end,
of those at the executive level of a small general aviation airport by bringing together the fire department and the airport, this
in the Midwest. The airport manager is the only full-time airport indicates organizational resilience.
employee located on the field and has been involved in three Hobfoll, et al. (2007) identifies five essential elements of
fatal incidents over the past 12 years. This case illustrates the per- trauma intervention that an organization can offer in order
sonal, group, and organizational resilience that this individual to enhance an employee's resilience (1) safety, (2) calming,
has been able to cultivate as a result of experiencing traumatic (3) self- and communal efficacy, (4) connectedness, and
aviation events. (5) hope. This airport manager was able to bring together
The airport in this case is a small non-Part 139 general these five elements by understanding what objectives needed
aviation airport facility that is city-owned and operated. The to be met in order to satisfy a personal need. The airport
airport manager is the only full-time employee on the field. manager determined at the second aircraft fatality that there
