Vim & Vigor - Winter 2011 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center - (Page 7)
A CERT-ain Kind of Dedication
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Community volunteers trained to leap into action when disaster strikes
By KRISTEN JUMP
ast fall, Phelps County Regional Medical Center (PCRMC) began training more than a dozen community volunteers to become part of the hospital’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which can provide assistance and support to professional response agencies during a disaster. “Volunteers complete 20 hours of basic training,” says CERT program manager Wendy Squires. “They learn about the types of disasters our area is most susceptible to, including tornadoes, earthquakes and flooding; basic first aid, CPR training and lifesaving skills; basic search and rescue; the psychology of disasters; and ways to recognize post-traumatic stress disorder.”
A NATIONAL PIONEER IN TRAINING
CERTs are usually developed and trained by professional disaster response agencies across the country—police, sheriff’s, fire or health departments. PCRMC’s emergency management personnel believe their CERT team may be the first trained and supported by a hospital. >
Community Emergency Response Team members trained by PCRMC traveled to Joplin to help rebuild houses destroyed by this year’s tornado.
Vim & Vigor • WI NTER 2011
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