During this past week we received from Earl Johnson, on behalf of the Spiritual Care Response Team (SRT) a proposal to the Spiritual Care Collaborative members. We share it with all NACC members and seek your responses and advice.

Proposal to the American Red Cross Spiritual Care Partner Organizations

There has to be a better way.

How can we do disaster preparedness without creating more anxiety or denial? How can we motivate others to help when some blame disaster victims for living in harms way?

How can the membership of our American Red Cross spiritual care professional partners be integrated into regularly anticipated catastrophic weather events with mass fatality potential without creating Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder? How can we expand the continuum of care from critical care to impacted neighborhoods, from ICU’s to shelters and feeding stations? How can we find and embrace the appropriate partners when disaster response has proved to be fertile ground for predators and entrepreneurs?

Our healthcare institutions need and regularly practice disaster plans. How to evacuate a hospital in less than an hour, or, conversely, how to prepare for a surge event---how to ramp up from 500 beds to several thousand beds within 24 hours---is part of the new ‘normal’. Disaster preparedness is basic standard operating procedure, and, good business. To not be prepared, exposes institutions for litigation and loss of licensure---while federal partners continually evacuate special needs and other vulnerable populations that are in harm’s way when disasters strike.

Much was learned from the gaps in services and chaos that followed hurricane Katrina and Rita. Hospitals evacuated and closed, ICU’s and nursing homes transported significant distances to protect the most vulnerable---the human cost of exposure to profound catastrophic events can not be diminished. We do not serve one another by not providing disaster orientation and training to those who seek to help the victims of these catastrophes. Otherwise, the intensity and complexity of these events may overwhelm the responder, who may not know how to claim self-care and work as a member of a team.

I would like to propose the following:

1. The invitation for all our professional chaplaincy partners to volunteer with the American Red Cross and receive disaster training locally in our 740 chapters nationwide, and, for those who wish to have more intensive training in transportation disaster response, mass fatalities, WMD/Terrorism, to apply for ARC SRT training.
2. Completion of American Red Cross enrollment paperwork well in advance of catastrophic disasters, so that when the call for our spiritual care partners to help those in profound need comes, our chaplains are ready.
3. Continued work with our NVOAD partners on Standards of Care in Disaster for those seeking to provide spiritual care services in Red Cross service delivery sites.
4. Maintenance of ARC ethical standards and code of conduct so that no individual or organization may benefit from their association with the ARC in providing basic humanitarian services.

Five forms are attached:

1. DSHR enrollment form
2. Statement of Understanding
3. Health Record (confidential)
4. DSHR applicant data record
5. Physical Capacity Grid

At the present time, the American Red Cross has 215 trained Spiritual Care Response Team members from six cognate group partners (with ARC MOU’s) and two groups that are exploring MOU’s. The six with MOU’s are:

1. American Association of Pastoral Counseling
2. Association of Clinical Pastoral Education
3. Association of Professional Chaplains
4. International Conference of Police Chaplains
5. National Association of Catholic Chaplains
6. National Association of Jewish Chaplains

And, the two others are:

1. Federation of Fire Chaplains
2. College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy

Chapters may already have relationships with SRTs in their domain and use them as subject matter experts during aviation drills at local airports or for mass fatality responses (i.e. Rhode Island Nightclub Fire). SRTs are highly credentialed Red Cross volunteers that are nationally managed and nationally deployed and are integral members of the ARC Critical Response Team, and, already in our DSHR.

With the encouragement of cognate group leadership, to volunteer and do the paperwork in advance of catastrophic disasters, when events occur, one may have expedited travel and processing and know how to work with those disaster response entities to provide essential emergency support and services.

I would welcome comments to this proposal at your earliest convenience.

Earl

Earl E. Johnson, Volunteer Partner
Spiritual Care Response Team (SRT)
American Red Cross NHQ
2025 E. St., NW
Washington, DC 20006
202.303.8642
202.303.0241 fax

At left: Fr. Tom Landry, NACC Interim Executive Director, signs the MOU's (Memorandums of Understanding)* while (from left) Tim Serban, Marjorie Ackerman, NACC Board Chair Karen Pugliese, and Court Ogilvie look on.

*For more information, see the January 2007 newsletter, below.

Copies of the E-SRT newsletter are available for NACC members to read. The newsletter is self-described as

An occasional electronic communication from the Spiritual Care Response Team (SRT formerly SAIR) a component of the national Critical Response Team (CRT formerly the AIR Team) collaborated through the national American Red Cross (ARC), communications, including late-breaking news, team member notices, reminders, and tidbits.

To read, click here.

Honor Roll for Those Who Served After 9/11

Click here to view the Honor Roll.

Other links

Red Cross website