POLICY

Purpose

Amtrak is concerned with the well‑being of its employees involved in critical incidents. In order to ensure that they are provided with appropriate mental health assistance, the Critical Assistance and Response Program for Employees (C.A.R.E.) was established. For the purpose of this policy, a critical incident is defined as, but not limited to, an event in which there is serious bodily injury or death of employees, passengers, or trespassers. Also, traumatic events that do not result in bodily injury or death but are catastrophic in nature may be considered as cause to engage C.A.R.E.. Accordingly, this policy sets forth the procedures for each of the program components.

Scope

All Amtrak employees.

Notification System

All critical incidents that occur in the Intercity and the Northeast Corridor will be reported to the National Operations Center (CNOC). It is the responsibility of CNOC to notify the Employee Assistance Services (EAP) of the incident. Amtrak West and Amtrak West Commuter services will report each critical incident to the Emeryville, California Operations Center. The Emeryville Operations Center is responsible to notify the EAP. The following information will be provided to the EAP within two (2) hours of the critical incident:

1. Day, time, train number, location, what happened, the extent of injuries to employees, passengers, and trespassers, and/or fatalities.

2. How long the train is going to be delayed; what was the train's destination; and when do they expect the crew to return home.

3. Names, telephone numbers, and social security numbers of the train crew or employees involved.

4. In the case of a major train accident, CNOC will provide the profiles of: Train and Engine crew, On Board Services Crew employees, Student or Trainee employees, any Managers who are in service and on board the train at the time of the accident.

5. In the event of a non‑train related incident on Amtrak property, it is the responsibility of the local supervision to notify the EAP of the critical incident and provide the names and telephone numbers of the involved employees.

Revised 8-20-01

Outreach ‑ Primary Level of Intervention and Personnel

Interventions are conducted by specially trained Critical Incident Response Team Members (CIRT) and/or Employee Assistance Professionals(EAP). CIRT’s made up of peers lead the intervention and offer support to their co-workers while the EAP counselor oversees the process.

All critical incidents are followed-up by telephone or in person intervention by a CIRT member and/ or an EAP counselor. Contacts with the employee involved in the critical incident will be made within 24 hours of the incident or an appropriate time thereafter.

Intervention process

The CIRT team member and/or the EAP counselor is responsible for the initial contact and defusing of the incident with the employee involved in the critical incident. When the trained CIRT team member is the employee’s first point of contact and feels the employee needs additional support or the employee requests additional support, he/she will contact their regional EAP counselor.

An EAP assessment will be required for any incident that involves a fatality, serious injury, or time off from work under the C.A.R.E. program. The EAP counselor will conduct an assessment to determine the well being of the employee. If necessary, an appropriate referral will be made to an external qualified mental health provider specializing in trauma for further assistance. The EAP counselor’s intervention will provide employees with basic stress management techniques to assist in coping with any stress reactions that may occur.

Individual Defusing or Group Debriefing

After the initial contact with the EAP counselor, it may be determined that the employee needs additional informal support for stress reactions experienced due to the involvement with the critical incident. The employee is referred to an external community professional with training, certifications and specialization in Critical Incident Stress Management. Meetings with the trained mental health provider are confidential (as required by federal, state, and local laws) and are strictly performed as a supportive service and are not expected to interfere with the employee's regular work assignment.

In the event of a major critical incident affecting many employees, the EAP staff will facilitate a critical incident debriefing session. The critical incident debriefing process involves employees getting together in a confidential group setting to discuss the incident, express feelings, and receive stress management coping techniques. Information shared during these sessions will be kept confidential (as required by federal, state and local laws). Under no circumstances will information shared during this session be considered part of the incident investigation.

These services are not intended to replace medical or psychological evaluations.

Referrals to an External Qualified Health Care Professional

If it is determined by the EAP counselor that the employee requires a post traumatic stress disorder evaluation, the employee will be referred to an external Qualified Health Care Professional (QHCP) specializing in critical incident interventions and treatment. These providers will be obtained through Amtrak's insurance provider network. The Employee Assistance Program will be responsible for the employee co-payment for up to ten (10) sessions. If the employee misses more than 3 days from their work assignment the EAP counselor must receive a diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan from the QHCP in order to file an occupational injury report form to comply with Federal Railroad Administration requirements.

Compensation for lost time because of a critical incident (Pay Continuation)

First three days after the incident

If the employee involved in a critical incident believes that he/she has been traumatized by the event and cannot continue their work duties, they will be relieved from their work assignment under the procedures of the CARE program. Once relieved, an EAP counselor will contact the employee, as defined in the intervention process. The EAP counselor through the appropriate department will authorize compensation in addition to notifying the employee’s status to their department manager. Up to three consecutive work days after the incident, the employee can be compensated for lost earnings from their work assignment by complying with the EAP counselor’s recommendations.

After the Initial First Three Work Days and up to Seven Work Days

If it is determined that the employee needs more than three consecutive work days from active duty and needs to be treated for trauma, the employee must adhere to Federal requirements as described in “Referrals to an External Qualified Health Care Professional” and can be compensated for a maximum of seven work days.

Training

Any employee who would like to participate as a Critical Incident Response Team member must attend critical incident training using the Mitchell Model and must receive a certificate of completion from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. To request training an employee must receive authorization from their respective union representative and the Manager of Peer Services. Additional training will be identified and authorized through each regional EAP counselor.

A two‑hour training course will be available for all supervisors, especially for supervisors of train crews. This course will contain information from the Pre‑incident training course; how to handle employees involved in critical incidents.

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