Our 1st Responders are Helping people of the Carolinas while not knowing what is happening to their own homes during Hurricane Florence.
Once again the Blue Alert Foundation is doing a Fundraiser for 1st Responders in Need after Hurricane Florence has past.
Please Help and Donate what you can to the Relief Fund.
DONATION LINK: https://www.bluealert.us/BlueAlertStore#!/Helping-1st-Responders-helping-others-in-Hurricane-Florence/p/115495863/category=24676409
An officer in the Public Health Service writes about his commitment to helping people during Hurricane Florence while his own home was in the path of the storm.
The home that my wife and I purchased the day before we married is about a quarter of a mile from where Hurricane Florence made landfall, and we don’t know what will be left after the storm passes. But what’s even more important to me than our house is helping other people in need. I am currently responding to the hurricane at a shelter co-located with North Carolina responders at a church in High Point, North Carolina, as part of a team from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps sent there to provide care after the storm for those in need.
Already we are providing basic medical care for people who evacuated to the shelter. Some of the patients we are seeing are from New Bern, a city just a few counties away from my community. Being here and helping people helps me not think about the possibility of losing our home. My possessions can be replaced; neighbors and loved ones cannot.
I am the chief public information officer for one of our Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) teams. The Commissioned Corps has RDF teams, each with more than 100 officers on call and ready to respond within 12 hours of activation, and several other specialized teams ready to deploy when called. I have been with the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps since 2009 and assigned to RDF-2 since 2010.
Now our team is responding to Hurricane Florence. When it comes to hurricanes, like any other situation in life, it is always best to prepare and be proactive. When you already have existing resources in place, you are able to help people quicker. Having previously lived in southeastern North Carolina, I have experienced many hurricanes and witnessed many hurricane survivors. When a hurricane makes landfall, survivors need assistance as soon as possible. Whether thousands of miles away or in my own backyard, being on site to help people survive a disaster is a vital service our nation provides. I am honored to be part of it.
