Study of DCSO deputies’ rotating shifts seeks to improve their health

(Update: Adding video, comments from Deschutes County SO lieutenant)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with a physician from St. Charles to study whether having deputies work frequently rotating shifts has a negative impact on their health.

Rapidly rotating work shifts consist of a pattern of two days of work, one day off, then two night shifts, followed by four days off. The effects of moving from working dayside to nightside every few days is what's being analyzed.

This study is a small part of a bigger wellness program created by Sheriff Shane Nelson. The Health of the Force initiative is a program designed to help improve the physical and mental health of the deputies.  It incorporates physical, spiritual, and emotional elements to deal with the traumas that go on with police work.

Sheriff's Lt. Chad Davis said, “Part of the sleep study is to look at their blood pressure, their weight, examine their sleep during this time, to see what the effects are, and if there are benefits to working straight shifts, as opposed to the rotating shifts-- and to see how they physically feel.”

A total of 19 sworn employees are involved in the sleep trial. Here's how it’ll work:

• First, St. Charles collected baseline health data on each officer while they were working the rapidly rotating shift schedule.
• In mid-January, about half of those 19 officers started working all days, and the rest started working all nights. They will do that for about two months, and then collect the same baseline data.
• After two months, the two groups will trade shifts and collect data again.
• Near the end of the trial, Dr. Dave Dedrick and two partners – Dr. Mark Backus of Cascade Internal Medicine Partners and Dr. Richard MacDonnell of MyMD Personal Medicine – will analyze the data and then hand it over to a statistician to “grind the numbers,” Dedrick said.

The sheriff's office also received a federal Department of Justice grant of more than $111,000 to be used for its peer support program, which provides employees with an opportunity to receive physical psychological and emotional support in times of personal or professional crisis. It will also be used to provide training and technology to members of the peer support team, as well as therapy referrals.

Sheriff's Sgt. Jayson Janes said in a report to Sheriff & Deputy magazine that the program is among needed changes in order to better serve the community and keep deputies' healthy while ensuring county residents feel and are safe.

Dedrick has also previously worked with the Bend Police Department on their own wellness program. He said some may find the rotating shifts appealing, while others may see it as incompatible with a well-balanced life.

You can find more information about the study at: https://www.stcharleshealthcare.org/news/study-looks-how-shift-work-affects-health