If you live in or near the Quad Cities, our Disaster Shelter Team needs your help to offer safe, healthy evacuation or emergency shelters for people in our area who are impacted by fires, flooding, tornadoes or other disasters. When people are displaced from their homes in an emergency, the American Red Cross offers comfort, food, lodging assistance and individual recovery casework to help them get back on their feet.
In the immediate aftermath of a large disaster, we need to be able to quickly open shelters to provide a safe place for these people. We are required to have at least one Disaster Health Service Associate on hand at each of these shelters to ensure the well-being of residents, volunteers, and other staff members. This is where your qualifications in the health professions comes in.
Disaster Health Service Associates make sure that everyone has access to their medications and durable medical equipment (or that they can get them replaced), as many people may have to leave these important items behind in an emergency evacuation. These associates also make sure that anyone who is too sick to be in the shelter or who has a communicable illness, is sent to an appropriate medical facility. There's very little direct clinical care done at the shelter, but with your knowledge and training, you would be able to make triage decisions. You're also on hand in case someone has a medical emergency, and your inherent compassion will provide much comfort to people who are under incredible stress.
IF THIS OPPORTUNITY APPEALS TO YOU, please contact us today by indicating your interest here, or by texting Connie at 309-207-5266. Let's discuss it further and see if this is a good fit for you!
Professional qualifications are required for this important volunteer position.
If you have a CURRENT, unencumbered license as one of the following, you could become a Disaster Health Service Associate or Supervisor:
Registered Nurse (RN) Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)* Paramedic* Medical Doctor (MD) Doctor of Osteopathy (DO)
