Volunteers participate in 4-day workshop on disaster response.
Neither pouring rain or snow in late March dampened the enthusiasm of the volunteers who participated in Heart to Heart International’s 2019 Spring Disaster Response Training Workshop.
The 38 medical, logistics and communications volunteers attended lectures and participated in hands-on training from March 28 to March 31 at Lake Doniphan Retreat Center in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. As the final step for volunteers to becoming fully vetted members of the Disaster Response Team, the workshop equips attendees with the knowledge necessary for successful disaster response deployments.
During a table top exercise, volunteers imagined a deployment to a foreign country. Teams cared for patients with a variety of conditions, including diseases mentioned in one of the previous day’s lecture. Teams were also exposed to different cultural beliefs and customs. Hands-on activities incorporated fleet and communications equipment as well as cold chain and security procedures. Teams were assessed on how they applied what they learned in class to these possible situations.
The attendees were divided into teams, and each team was equipped with a mentor to guide the team and provide feedback to staff. Lectures on Disaster Medicine and Psychological First Aid were included in this year’s workshop. Volunteers also got the opportunity to tour the new headquarters in Lenexa, KS.
The next workshop will take place in Fall 2019.
