>Call me crazy. Call the whole situation unlikely. But call me… a public health emergency volunteer. A member of our local public health department came to our school staff meeting today to talk about plans for — you guessed it, a pandemic — and recruited volunteers from the teaching staff. I signed up.
I had a few misgivings. My family may need me. Even if all schools and major workplaces are closed (the scenario put forth), the media will still be operating, so Husband will still be working. I have a handicapped teenager, and our major support network consists of Grandma, who may be highly at risk of any kind of widespread illness. La Petite is away at college. She may or may not end up at home if an emergency of this scope occurs. It is possible that when the powers that be call, I might have to say no.
But I hope not. I have skills that could be useful.
I teach; speaking to groups, training others, educating the public are all second nature to me.
I’m not shy in front of a television camera or radio microphone, either. I’ve made many appearances as a spokesperson for fundraisers and worthy causes, mainly disability related. Writing press releases or instructions for patients? Piece of cake.
My CPR (including AED) and first aid training are current. Blood doesn’t bother me. If I hadn’t been a teacher, I could have gone to nursing school.
Honestly, though, it’s just nice to know that my little area of the globe has people in charge that are thinking ahead. I’d like to be one of them.