COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office along with the Ohio State University announced the opening of a new wellness center. It’s designed to address both the physical and mental needs of law enforcement officers.
The equipment in the space is part of a vision to better the officers physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing so they can be their best on and off duty. “Look, statistically, we only live about 18 months after retirement. So when we can look at some of these acute problems now and work on them, then we can push that out so we have a longer, healthier work ethic,” said FCSO Deputy Sheriff Josh Walters.
Leaders say that this facility represents a major step forward in providing comprehensive wellness support to deputies and recruits. “Just having that overall benefit of health, mentally, physically, it makes me a bigger asset to my colleagues and my community,” said Walters.
Deputies within the FCSO have been utilizing the space for months. They say they’ve noticed an improvement already. “I had kind of an injury while I was working out for some of our PT training and when I wasn’t able to do some of the important functions of my job, I came down and saw one of the trainers. She did some cupping and my lat area, and my shoulder was like brand new,” said Walters.