The region can be proud of the MRC's stunning response to the flooding disaster that ravaged Greater Lowell this spring.
Registered nurses Dorothy Mullen and Nancy Liva check the headlines while volunteering at a Red Cross emergency shelter in Lowell. |
The national network of MRC units was especially designed to provide care in each unit's local area within the first 72 hours of an emergency. From the moment they were asked to help, members of the UMV MRC rose to the occasion with flying colors, providing volunteers wherever their service was requested. By May 15, after several days of torrential rain, schools were closed in four of the seven UMV communities. Hundreds of area residents were evacuated from their homes. The governor declared a state of emergency, calling in the National Guard and many other resources.
As the UMV MRC staff was leaving to assess the damage in downtown Lowell, they sent a quick e-mail asking members to reply with their availability. That one message drew 53 responses almost immediately. (Additional members could be reached as needed through a full-scale call-out.)
Surge capacity was required because so many people were suddenly displaced – from entire neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and even elder care facilities. UMV MRC members provided relief to flood victims in the first crucial days of this devastating local emergency.
| • Continuous medical care at the Council on Aging emergency shelter |
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• A range of support activities in the Red Cross shelter at Lowell High School |
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UMV MRC Coordinator Nancy Burns observes the transfer of nursing care from Roland Gauthier to Pauline Ray at the COA shelter, during the change of shifts at 1 a.m.
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The unit filled every position that was requested. |
Dr. David Eberiel, Bob Veth, and Mary Eberiel provide administrative support at the high school shelter. |
• Hospital backfill for elderly patients who were transferred to Lowell General
Barbara Moloney takes nurse's notes at the COA shelter.
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Rita Bixby, RN, was among the team of volunteers who tended nursing home patients who had been evacuated to the hospital. “We felt like a million bucks because we had done something good,” Bixby recalls, “and what we were able to accomplish for those people.” |
Cots await local residents at the shelter who are displaced from their homes and in need of a place to stay. |
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