Disasters and Red Cross/CA Wildfires

[nurseactivist]

I am relatively new to this website, so forgive me if this topic has already been covered. Currently seeing the wildfire disasters in CA which are heartbreaking. I have been thinking about training for future disaster relief. I was wondering about the experiences of other nurses either with Red Cross or other agencies.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Nurses don't work front line in Red Cross disaster health services it's more of a case management/care coordination or first aid/public health at a shelter. You don't even have to be a nurse to work disaster health services. The front line in a disaster is local fire/EMS and local & regional mutual aid EMS/fire. Unlike disaster mental health services (which only licensed professionals MD/DO psychiatry. PsyD, LMFT, LPC, LCSW, etc) which licensed mental health professionals with counseling credentials provide crisis counseling and referrals.

[emmy27]

I worked with the Red Cross as a volunteer after Katrina- I worked in a mobile kitchen, on those ambulance-style trucks serving meals in the community, and driving Red Cross vehicles to take nurses from Project Hope in to the community to help people whose home health arrangements had been disrupted by the storm and to run tetorifice shot clinics.

It was before I was a nurse, but it an amazing experience and if I had the choice between volunteering with them as a nurse (which for ARC nurse volunteers seems to be mostly behind the scenes and in the community work) and volunteering at a disaster as a non-medical professional again, I'd probably do the disaster work.

[nurseactivist]

Thanks, for the helpful information.