Las Vegas firefighter created key training for first responders
By Jamie Munks Las Vegas Review-Journal
Las Vegas paramedic Matthew Driscoll is recognized as the employee of the month, during a city council meeting at Las Vegas City Hall in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Chief William McDonald, right, embraces paramedic Matthew Driscoll, who was recognized as the employee of the month, during a city council meeting at Las Vegas City Hall in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Councilwoman Michele Fiore, right, looks on. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco
Las Vegas paramedic Matthew Driscoll is recognized as the employee of the month, during a city council meeting at Las Vegas City Hall in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco
Las Vegas Councilman Steven Seroka, right, shakes hands with paramedic Matthew Driscoll, who was recognized as the employee of the month, during a city council meeting at Las Vegas City Hall in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco
Las Vegas paramedic Matthew Driscoll, left, with Mayor Carolyn Goodman, is recognized as the employee of the month, during a city council meeting at Las Vegas City Hall in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, center, with Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Chief William McDonald, right, recognize paramedic Matthew Driscoll as the employee of the month, during a city council meeting at Las Vegas City Hall in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, right, recognizes paramedic Matthew Driscoll as the employee of the month, during a city council meeting at Las Vegas City Hall in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco
Las Vegas Paramedic/Firefighter Matthew Driscoll knew he had transported human trafficking victims in an ambulance.
So when an injury forced him into light duty, he had an idea about how to spend that time: he started working on a training program to help first responders, hospital employees, counselors and social workers recognize signs they were encountering trafficking victims.
“From the field to the emergency room, that’s where we’re losing those patients,” Driscoll said.
What began as a small effort has grown — Las Vegas and North Las Vegas fire department employees have been through the training, and some Henderson firefighters have gone through it. Driscoll has worked with the organization iEmphathize, which aims to eradicate sex trafficking.
Recognizing a problem and following through to find a solution prompted Driscoll to pursue the new program, and led to the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday naming him the city’s employee of the month for August.
The ultimate goal is to separate the victim and the trafficker, immediately, said Driscoll, a nine-year veteran of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.
Driscoll now works with the University of Southern California to build a national training curriculum aimed at “training the trainers” — training people from different departments who can, in turn, train their colleagues.
“The goal is to build a curriculum we could drop at any fire department in the country,” Driscoll said.
