The University of South Florida is partnering with Hillsborough County and the Florida Department of Health to help with community emergency preparations ahead of Hurricane Ian.
Students Gabriela Stack and Katherine Patino carrying a cot at special needs shelter
The Hillsborough County Office of Emergency Management deployed USF’s Community Emergency Response Team to prepare emergency shelters throughout the county.
On Sunday, the team, which includes about 50 students, helped prepare four special needs shelters for residents who need assistance with daily functions and medical monitoring. Each space was cleared, cleaned and prepped to include medical cots and medical supplies, such as bandages and gauze.
More than 200 volunteers on the Community Emergency Response Team deployed during Hurricane Irma, providing approximately 5,000 hours of service in a week’s time. They assisted with shelter preparations, call centers, staffing shelters, food and water distributions and damage assessments post-storm. Elizabeth Dunn, USF instructor and director of the USF Community Emergency Response Team, says this week will likely look the same.
During the storm, the team will be on site across the county at general population shelters, special needs shelters and emergency pet shelters serving as shelter managers and staff. USF’s Medical Response Unit’s Specialized Disaster Response Team is also on standby to assist at the special needs shelters.
“Just as we did in 2017 for Hurricane Irma, we are providing our licensed medical volunteers to maintain the level of care that these patients deserve at no cost to them,” said Austin Jared, the Medical Response Unit operations coordinator. “We will be working in partnership with other local agencies and community partners to ensure our patients have minimal impact to their medical care due to the storm."
Medical Response Unit preparing equipment for deployment to special needs shelters
The Medical Response Unit is made up of students who are nationally certified paramedics, EMTs and emergency medical responders. The unit is in the process of finalizing its Disaster Response Team roster, preparing equipment and readying for deployment.
Dunn is encouraging those who haven’t done so already, to make a plan and prepare an emergency kit. The complexity of hurricane preparedness is increased for those with limited resources, temporary housing and language barriers. Obstacles like these are the focus of Dunn’s summer course in the College of Public Health, where students work one-on-one with refugee women from Refugee & Migrant Women’s Initiative, Inc. to prepare for natural disasters in the Tampa Bay area.
For the refugee women who were unable to participate over the summer, Dunn is actively working with them throughout the week to determine their evacuation zones and emergency shelters nearest to them.
“Engaging our students throughout the year with service-learning and research opportunities allows us as an academic institution to establish and strengthen partnerships in the community,” Dunn said. “It is through these built relationships that we are in a perfect position to build resilience and support some of our most vulnerable populations that may be affected by a disaster event.”
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