When 44-year-old volunteer Cayetana “Caye” Gomez de Soler arrived at an emergency shelter for Harney County residents flooded out of their homes earlier this month, she was immediately gratified, if not a little stunned.
“The people staying there instantly came over to say, ‘Hi,’ thanking us for being there,” Caye said. “And I was like, ‘I haven’t done anything yet… I just got here!’”
Caye drove almost five hours from her home in Eugene and spent three days at the shelter, tending to people’s basic medical needs. It was her very first deployment as a licensed EMT and member of the state pool of volunteers in the State Emergency Registry of Volunteers in Oregon (SERV-OR)—an all-volunteer force of licensed healthcare personnel who lend a hand during emergencies with significant health impacts.
But it wasn’t her first time at the scene of an emergency.
For her day job, Caye works as a coordinator for her local Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) – a federal volunteer program represented by 14 local units in Oregon. In her role with Lane County MRC, Caye travels to emergency sites throughout her region, making sure the medically trained volunteers are set up for success. This winter she worked at an emergency shelter in Cottage Grove during destructive ice storms. Last summer, high heat and wildfire smoke displaced many in Lane County, and Caye coordinated the medical personnel and supplies at a shelter in Eugene.
But Caye wanted to do more. She wanted to be a medically trained volunteer, so she took it upon herself to study and get licensed as an emergency medical technician (EMT).
“I thought it would be a great way to give back what I can,” Caye said. “Having us there—medical personnel at the shelter in Harney County—it really gave the residents there a sense of peace and security. All of us have busy lives, but we can always find time, and our community needs us.”
Indeed, SERV-OR needs all types of medically trained people for all types of emergencies, and the registration process is fairly simple. As long as you are currently licensed in some form of medical or behavioral health specialty, or your license has been expired fewer than 10 years, you are eligible to register with a SERV-OR organization. Whether you work full-time or part time, or if you are retired, there are plenty of opportunities to help people.
Velda Handler is a 74-year-old registered nurse (RN) living in Nehalem Bay. She’s been the volunteer manager and trained responder with the Tillamook County MRC, deploying several times since she joined SERV-OR in 2009.
“We are all allied with our community,” Velda said, explaining the overlap and coordination with County health, the Red Cross and even the local fire department. “When Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue responds to a fire, [as a partner resource] we are deployed to tend to the firefighters… because they can only be in the fire zones for a certain period of time. Then they come out, take off their gear, and we take their blood pressure, pulse, respiration, make sure they’re hydrated, etc., and make sure they’re OK before they go back in.”
Velda spent decades working as an ICU nurse in hospitals, and these days, her day job at Adventist Health Tillamook is based at home doing computer work. The flexibility that comes with her setup allows her not only the opportunity to deploy frequently, but to continue hands-on work as a nurse.
The most memorable experience of Velda’s volunteering career was, hands down, assisting Tillamook County Community Health with its COVID response. All told, Velda spent three and a half years doing COVID work.
“It was such a privilege,” Velda said. “We were activated in March 2020 and immediately began doing testing, contact tracing and PPE distribution. When the vaccine came out, we shifted gears and helped out in the vaccination clinics for the next two years. Time and time again, the County health workers told us they could never have done it without us.”
Emergencies can happen anywhere, at any time. Earthquakes (and pandemics) are unpredictable. Wildfires, flooding, severe storms and extreme temperatures are becoming more and more commonplace in Oregon. Volunteers are always needed, and Velda is more than willing to keep stepping up.
“It’s about being available for your community, and giving back,” Velda said. “As long as my health is good and I have the energy to do it, I will keep contributing in this way as long as possible.”
Each year at this time, during National Volunteer Appreciation Week,
we take this opportunity to recognize and celebrate the volunteers dedicated to public health preparedness and improving the health of Oregonians.
Check out this special issue of the SERV-OR bulletin that honors
four volunteers and one of the state’s Medical Reserve Corps units
for their outstanding contributions over the past year.
It takes many people and organizations to respond to a disaster, and health care volunteers play a vital role. Although responding to public health emergencies can be difficult and exhausting, not just physically but mentally and socially as well, the rewards can be significant.
SERV-OR volunteers serve all Oregon counties and Tribal nations but are most needed in jurisdictions that do not have an established Medical Reserve Corps unit. When emergencies happen, SERV-OR volunteers are never obligated to participate, and sometimes there are opportunities to serve remotely.
In addition to providing liability and workers comp protections for volunteers deployed by the state, OHA takes great care to ensure we activate volunteers in ways that support core response goals, as well as engage folks, regardless of their ability to travel to emergency sites.
To learn more about SERV-OR opportunities in Oregon, visit SERV-OR Frequently Asked Questions. You can also contact Sophie Flora-DeSart, OHA’s SERV-OR Volunteer Coordinator, at sophie.flora-desart@state.or.us.