Disaster Healthcare Volunteer

After getting our licenses back in 2010, T and I decided to become part of the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of CA. Basically, she's the wild and crazy one, and I'm the tag along :) We're all volunteers, but in the event of a natural disaster or emergency, we can be asked to deploy to any area of the state to provide medical (midwifery) care. Different regions around the state have their own small units called Medical Reserve Corps that are part of the larger state-wide group. My local group is the Fremont area MRC and last night we had our first training session.

The training was about the structure of the DHV and MRC, our role as medically trained volunteers, and the plans for an emergency response in Alameda County. It was great to leave with a much better understanding of what I signed up for, plus, I even earned 1.5 CEUs (continuing education units) for free!

When it comes to the plan after an emergency or disaster in the Bay Area, it's a pretty rough sketch. This has come up in multiple meetings I've attended recently, and my impression is that there are actually people who have come up with a draft idea of what could or should happen at the county level to provide help and resources to communities, but there really isn't a solid structural plan in place. The outline, framework, and intention is there, but a whole lot of pieces are missing and really, we'll just have to fend for ourselves.

During the training, we heard descriptions of the type of work we could be doing, which for us means everything from normal full-term out of hospital births to emergency life or death situations where we could be the one to make the call about who lives or not. Some situations are hard to visualize, like a terrorist attack or a biohazard emergency, but for us, a major earthquake seems like the most likely event that could occur. As the trainer talked about having to stay awake for days, being without basic supplies, and dealing with the emotional effects of working as a first responder, T and I looked at each other and smiled. That's nothing new to us. Managing birth emergencies after being awake for 50 hours, dealing with dehydration due to lack of clean drinking water, working with a population that deals with war and trauma on a daily basis, working by candlelight, having limited access to fresh food and life-saving medications, fearing for our own safety, being separated from our families and everything comfortable, and most importantly, not being able to rely on medical or emergency support for help. Been there, done that. Yet another reason I'm thankful for my time on the border. T has worked in post-tsunami Indonesia and is heading to Haiti in just a few weeks. At least we have each other.

Not to sound arrogant, but that's what our work is like. Independent midwives won't have issues knowing how to be helpful after a major earthquake. It's the hospital staff and other medical professionals who have never known anything but a fully stocked and staffed medical center that we worry about. I figure we won't be able to able to rely on any of the local hospitals, 880 and Mission Blvd. will be impassable, and we'll be without water and electricity for a few days after a major earthquake. Okay, so we'll just have to make do. I would much rather have the OB/GYNs and other MDs providing care I can't than for them to be handling normal births that just happen to take place outside a hospital.

In the meantime, I have been stocking up on as many first aid supplies as possible. Louis and I have a pretty substantial earthquake kit in the garage but I would love to invest in a ham radio or other kind of communication thingie. We could use more drinking water in our storage area. Some things are more complicated, though. Sometimes I lie in bed wondering about how I could sterilize instruments after an emergency and whether I should buy more types of sutures to help with first aid situations. It makes me nervous that my lidocaine is on back order until March. What a weirdo I am.

After the training, T and I met a woman who had worked as a first responder after the Indonesian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the earthquake in Haiti. She told us she was glad we were volunteering because she knew how helpful a midwife would have been in each of those situations. In just the Superdome after Katrina, she saw five babies born, and many other women who went into labor, even those who weren't full term. It's a situation that not many people, even first responders, think about. Another thing to think about would be feeding all the babies. I wonder how many babies got sick from formula made with unclean water.

Speaking of babies, I found out there is a training coming up about the county's plan for newborns, babies, and kids after a disaster. I really want to take this training. It's in Oakland and only costs $25 for an all day training (with CEUs!). The catch is that it's in early June, meaning I'll still be newly postpartum. T knows I really want to take the training, since she does, too. She offered to help me however she can so that we could go together. I've been thinking about this all day. The training is during a weekday, so Louis won't be available to watch the baby. I may have enough pumped milk at home for grandma or grandpa to give bottles, but I don't know if the baby will be taking bottles by that point or not. Plus, I'd have to pump while I'm at the training, which wouldn't be fun. Really, I don't think I'd be able to leave the baby for a whole day, even if I could work out the feeding situation. So, I'm planning to register for this training with the hope that I can wear the baby for easy breastfeeding and T will help with diaper changes or anything I need. I'll have to leave the house at some point, and it may as well be for something I really want to do. And, if the timing isn't right, maybe I can send someone in my place. I think I'm gonna try it, though.

I really want to do my part to be as prepared as possible for "the big one."