EVERGREEN
HEALTHCARE
PREPARES
Health care professionals at Evergreen Healthcare
in Kirkland
were impressed by the American Red Cross workplace preparedness
presentation.
Early in November 2007
local Red Cross workplace presenter
Kelly Kasper conducted two presentations for nearly 300 home health and
hospice professionals that included everyone from administrators and nurses
to social workers and physical therapists.
It’s not easy to keep a group
of 150 people engaged said Rick Barwinski, manager of business operations
and business development, but Kelly’s presentation style was great, mixing facts and
humor.
“She had
many useful suggestions,” Rick said. “There were a lot of ah-ha
moments.”
Marilyn McKee,
administrative assistant, said a lot of people came up to her saying they
were going to put together kits.
Redmond resident
Jocelyn Johnson, an Evergreen nurse, was one of those people. She made a
disaster kit
for her car after the presentation. She now has water, food
bars, a down blanket and a first aid kit.
Jocelyn is one of many
Evergreen nurses who conduct home visits, up to six a day, so she said it
was really important for her to be prepared in her car, where she spends a
lot of her time.
Stacy Olinger,
clinical supervisor at the
Kirkland
location, said, “I think
everyone learned something.”
Rick remembers Kelly emphasizing preparedness at
home, making sure your employees are prepared so they can care
for themselves, their families and their patients.
“Her presentation really created this awareness of preparedness,” Rick said.
“Emergency preparedness always drops off the priority list, but Kelly made
a really compelling case. She said: ‘What are you going to do
tonight?’”
Since then, Rick bought light
sticks, Stacy moved her supplies from her garage to a central
location in her home and Jocelyn built her own disaster kit.
Marilynn says she
plans on doing something soon.
“You know I really need to do this and
quit putting it off.”
For more information about workplace preparedness or training,
please contact us at (206) 726-3507, (360) 377-3761 or prepare@seattleredcross.org.
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