The Freeholder Board and Cooper University Health Care will announce a new initiative on Friday at the Camden County College’s Cherry Hill campus to proactively keep the 2,800 emergency responders in Camden County healthier by identifying and combating life-threatening diseases. The statistics are overwhelming and underline a significant need to improve the health of our men and women on the front-line of public safety.
Statistics show that cardiac disease is the number one killer among firefighters over the age of 35 and that 75 percent of all active emergency responders nationwide have been classified as hypertensive or prehypersensitive. In fact, 44 percent of all deaths by firefighters, in the line of duty, are from sudden cardiac deaths.
In order to combat this epidemic, this public-private partnership will provide critical medical exams for our first responders. These exams will be the first step in creating a global wellness campaign that will improve the health of our firefighters and emergency medical technicians.
