Goodyear Fire Department Partners with Franklin Pierce University
Apr 15, 2013
The Goodyear Fire Department began working with students and faculty from the Franklin Pierce University Physical Therapy Program in Goodyear, Ariz., last week as part of a partnership for firefighter injury reduction. The graduate students sought a class project, and the fire department was in search of a program to provide education to their firefighters on injury prevention through focused physical training. The collaboration provided both organizations with a mutually beneficial opportunity at no cost.
The Franklin Pierce DPT graduate students were given the task of evaluating various job functions performed by firefighters and then building an exercise program designed to reduce on-the-job injuries. The first training session was kicked off last week with the first group of firefighters to be trained in the new program, resulting in very positive feedback from both students and firefighters. Part of the class project will involve the students and firefighters recording various performance data during the entire testing period; this data will assist both groups in assessing overall program results.
This project is a great example of public/private partnership as part of the City of Goodyear’s Council Strategic Action Plan. The partnership has provided an excellent community service project for the graduate students, and assisted the fire department’s goal of further injury prevention education for their firefighters.
