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Medical care during disasters is critical, but the Santa Clara Country Public Health Department recognizes that in the event of a major earthquake or some other disaster, it may not have enough personnel to respond. So the department has partnered with the Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley to develop the Medical Volunteers for Disaster Response program.
The program pre-screens, pre-registers and issues photo identification credentials to physicians, nurses and physician assistants who could be called on during a public health emergency. It keeps track of specialties and sub-specialties so if a unique need arises, the county will have a detailed, active list on which to rely.
"The program was initiated last year in response to our preparedness efforts. We recognized that regardless of what emergency happened, our internal resources of the public health department is never enough to respond to an event such as an earthquake. We had to look outside of our internal resources," said Maria Ferrer, manager of the county's office of disaster medical services.
Volunteers may be dispatched to sites that include shelters, clinics, hospitals and public health centers, where they may be asked to provide such services as giving mass vaccinations and casualty care.
Letters went out to 17,000 medical professionals, and more than 400 responded. They include doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from Santa Clara County who signed up to volunteer to aid in disaster and relief efforts. As the program expands to include other medical professionals in fields such as dentistry and mental health care, the list is expected to grow.
Barbara Peurifoy, a San Jose resident, is a registered nurse and a teacher in the nursing program at De Anza College. She said she saw an opportunity to give back to the community with the skills she's gained over 30 years. She signed up and took the oath. Ferrer said all volunteers take a loyalty oath as part of the process.
Peurifoy began her nursing career in the medical and surgical field and has also worked in home health care. She has three grown children, and though she has worked at area hospitals, she is no longer tied to one through employment. She fits the profile of the county's target market.
Ferrer said the county knew doctors and nurses who are employed by hospitals and clinics will be expected to report to work in the event of a disaster. Though the county is including those workers in the MVDR program, the county doesn't want to rely on them solely because that would actually reduce the pool of skilled workers from which to draw.
Instead, the focus is on professionals in private practice, those who are retired, or teachers, such as Peurifoy and her boss, Judith Clavijo, who also volunteered.
Bonnie McClory, a Campbell resident, is not in private practice, she's not retired, and she isn't a teacher. She doesn't fit the target profile, but she is a registered volunteer in the MVDR program. She works as a registered nurse in Cupertino for Kaiser Permanente as phone support for high-risk pregnant women.
Her patients include women who are carrying twins and those with high blood pressure or diabetes. She talks to them every day, answering their questions and giving advice.
The mother of 10 and grandmother of nine has been doing this for 19 years. She was an English teacher before she became a nurse, and she knows how to talk to people who are concerned or distressed.
"Babies are born in disasters; all kinds of things happen," she said.
In the event of an emergency she might be called upon to walk door-to-door to administer vaccines or go to a school to provide nursing care.
"Disaster response has to start in the community, in the neighborhood," McClory said. "I can be a nurse in a lot of different environments. I am proud to use my profession to help out my community and my country," she said.
There is no cost to register or volunteer with the MVDR program, and Ferrer said the county plans to hold triage and emergency treatment training opportunities in the future for volunteers.
"We're an advance practice center, one of seven in the nation. We are developing a comprehensive training program for our public health personnel that will include emergency response training for our volunteers," she said.
For more information on volunteering for the Medical Volunteer for Disaster Response program, call 408.793.2020.
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