By Linda Hider
Daily Record
Copyright 2008 Dix Communications Group
WOOSTER, Ohio — In an initiative spurred by President George Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, four months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he called for every American to commit two years or 4,000 hours to volunteer service.
“America needs retired doctors and nurses who can be mobilized in major emergencies; volunteers to help police and fire departments; transportation and utility workers well-trained in spotting danger,” Bush said in the address.
Major local emergencies can overwhelm the capability of first- responders, especially during the first 12-72 hours. Having volunteers who are prepared to take care of themselves, their families, and others during times of crisis will allow first- responders to focus their efforts on the most critical, life- threatening situations.
An organized, well-trained volunteer can effectively respond to an emergency, are familiar with their community’s response plan, know what materials are available for their use, know who their partners in the response are and know where their skills can be utilized to their best advantage and in a coordinated manner.
Both the Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Wayne County Health Department use volunteers on a daily basis.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of the American Red Cross. They teach classes, coordinate bloodmobiles, counsel disaster victims, respond to emergencies such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, fires, and terrorist attacks.
The American Red Cross could not do what they do without volunteers. To add perspective, following the September terrorist attacks, the American Red Cross deployed more than 55,000 volunteers and career staff to address the needs of the families, victims and relief workers in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
More information about the Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross can be found at www.arc-wayne.org.
The Wayne County Health Department created the Wayne County Medical Reserve Corps to strengthen the county’s response by establishing a system for medical and public health volunteers to offer their experience and expertise during times of need. The MRC allows volunteer medical and health professionals to contribute their skills and expertise throughout the year as well as during times of community need.
The Wayne County MRC is recruiting physicians, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, state tested nursing assistants, and paramedics to consider volunteering. Retired medical professionals, with or without current licenser, are also encouraged to register. Volunteers will only be activated when local resources have been overwhelmed.
Volunteer duties will be assigned as the situation requires, however, such tasks as vaccine administration, patient screening and vaccine monitoring will be standard duties assigned to volunteer medical professionals.
This column is one of a series of monthly columns provided by the Wayne Holmes Emergency Coalition. It was written by Alicia Abdalla, BSAS, CHES Medical Reserve Corps coordinator at the Wayne County Health Department.
For more information about the Wayne/Holmes Emergency Coalition and other articles, go to the WH Emergency Coalition page of www.wayne-health.org or contact Susan Varnes, R.N., PHERC, of the Wayne-County Health Department.