In the first moments after a disaster, the time interval prior to the arrival of First Responders is an uncharted time period. People at the scene step up to help, regardless of training, to care for others around them. Using whatever resources they may have available, they take action, often improvising care, doing the best they can amidst an unstable scene and at risk of experiencing both physical and emotional trauma themselves. Their actions may be the difference between life and death.
Neither bystander nor first responder, these are the Spontaneous Responders within the Disaster Gap and they are currently invisible to us as medical providers and academics. Our first aid and medical courses do not prepare them, and we do not systematically and consistently study or assess their impact or role, despite them being present at nearly every disaster. We do not optimize their care, their education, their improvisations, their impact and we do nothing to foster their healing.
This lecture will differentiate these spontaneous responders from both bystanders and first responders and will serve as a call to action to change the way we teach about disasters and how we can include this group of people as we evaluate our responses.
Please join on Monday, June 23, 12:00pm - 2:00pm CST via Zoom as Christina Hernon, MD shares her experience and expertise with us. This session will be recorded.
Christina Hernon, M.D. is an Emergency Physician & Medical Toxicologist who was volunteering in the medical tent at the finish line at the Boston Marathon in 2013, the year of the bombings. Amidst blood and glass, she got an instant education, and afterwards, while processing feelings of shame and pain, she identified a large gap in the way we teach disaster response. Now she is passionate about teaching about the Disaster Gap and the trained and untrained Spontaneous Responders within it.