Children's Hospital CERT Team

I am a member of the Children’s Emergency Response Team at my job at Seattle Children’s Hospital. We were one of the first organizations in the nation after 9/11 to have a team to locally respond and help in case of a major emergency like an earthquake, terrorist attack, or even a car accident that we come upon.
The Children’s CERT team trains regularly in Light Search and Rescue, Fire Suppression and Safety, Spill Response, Decontamination and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Patient Handling, Incident Command, Disaster First Aid and CPR. We are truly First Responders that are capable of effectively act initially at the site of an emergency.

For me as a veteran, being a CERT member is nearly the perfect activity to be involved with. There are several veterans (all younger than me) on our team, so there is certain esprit de corps that is manifested as we work together.
The national Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

I would encourage you to check out www.citizencorps.gov/cert/, or where you work, to get involved! We may be older veterans, but we’re not done serving our country!