Click here to read interviews with the contributors to TO THE RESCUE

 

 

 

 

 

   Renee Berke is a registered nurse who studied with Planned Parenthood at The New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, and practiced in Boston as an Ob-Gyn Nurse practitioner. She presently lives in Cape Cod and has written for The Barnstable Patriot, The Cape Cod Times, Advance for Nurses, and other nursing periodicals. In 1999 she volunteered as a national disaster nurse with the American Red Cross.

 

 

 

 

 

    Linda Garrett has a BSN from the University of Delaware.  She has been the School Nurse at Laurel Springs School since 1999 and has worked as a Staff Nurse on the inpatient Child/Adolescent Psychiatric Unit at Kennedy Hospital since 1993.  She was certified as a psychiatric/mental health nurse in 1996 and has been a Red Cross Volunteer since 2001.  She is married and lives in southern New Jersey.

 

 

 

 

   Dr. Jeff Goodman, a retired family practice physician from Kauai, has served as a spokesperson and volunteer field physician for International Medical Corps (IMC) since 1987.  He has been with IMC on 10 different missions, many of them emergency response, in eight different countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Liberia, Indonesia, Lebanon, and Kenya. 

 

 

 

   Rhona Knox Prescott recently retired to Skaneateles, NY. She finished nursing school in Flushing, NY and was commissioned in the US Army in the Nurse Corps. She served for approximately seven years, one of those in Vietnam during the Tet offensives of 1967 and 1968. After the war Rhona completed a masters degree in clinical social work at the University of Houston, and eventually became a trauma counselor/therapist for war veterans. She writes for publication now and some of her work has been adapted for stage. Busy as a mom and grandma, life is good. Volunteer work keeps her grounded and happily occupied.

 

 

 

 

   Mark Montijo grew up on a horse ranch in Southern California.  Now living at the base of Mount Diablo in Northern California with his wife and three daughters, Mark divides his time between working as a healthcare ombudsman/mediator for a large HMO and teaching as an adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, CA.  In his spare time, Mark enjoys reading, writing and mountain biking with his family.

 

 

   Grace Muthumbi has served as a health worker and HIV/AIDS activist with International Medical Corps (IMC) for nine years.  She first worked with IMC in South Sudan, where she was involved in a Center for Disease Control and Prevention study on the co-infection of African sleeping sickness and HIV.  A native of Kenya, she later returned with IMC to lead a new HIV/AIDS program in Nairobi’s Kibera slum, where she still works today.

 

 

   Perry Prince, LCSW, MFT, has worked in disaster mental health since 1997, serving with the American Red Cross on seventeen disasters, including 9/11, Katrina, and typhoons in U.S. territories in the Western Pacific. He has also worked on international assignments with other NGOs: In Sri Lanka, following the tsunami that is the subject of this story, with Sri Lankan refugees in India, and most recently, in Uganda, where he did an extensive psychosocial assessment of Congolese refugees.

Rick Rhodes retired from the Army National Guard in 2007 after 16 years of active duty service in the United States Army and 4 years with the Florida Army National Guard and was deployed in Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. Worked as a terrorism Planner for the Florida Division of Emergency Management and was assigned to the State’s Emergency Response Team-A. As Regional Emergency Response Advisor for the Florida Department of Health he responded to several natural disasters including Hurricanes, Charlie, Frances, Jeane, Ivan, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2004 and 2005. Currently holds a positions with the Department of Veterans Affairs as an Area Emergency Manager.

 

 

   Robert B. Robeson flew 987 combat medical evacuation missions in South Vietnam. He had seven helicopters shot up by enemy fire and was twice shot down in one year. He was commander and operations officer during his tour with the 236 Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) in Da Nang. He is a writer who has been published more than 700 times in over 250 international, national, and regional publications which include the Reader’s Digest, Official Karate, Vietnam Combat, Sepia, Executive Female, Frontier Airline Magazine, and Newsday, among others. He has garnered a readership of millions in 130 countries. He’s also a member of the National Writers Association and the Military Writers Society of America. Robeson retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel, after 27½ years of military service on three continents.

 

   Louise Robinson earned  her RN degree at the age of 45, then joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Guatemala, where she single-handedly enriched the lives of an entire country. Certified as an International Red Cross Volunteer Nurse, she was sent to Kuwait to assist at a refugee camp.

Louise continues to do volunteer work while working as a Registered Nurse in Colorado. Raising her grandchildren has been only one of her many adventures.

 

 

   Sally Roy-Boynton received her M.S.N. from the University of Dubuque her Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from California Coast University.  She is a certified Nursing Executive and a Clinical Specialist in Adult Psychiatric Nursing. Ms. Roy-Boynton is Director of Psychiatric Services at Mercy Medical Center, Dubuque, IA. She does volunteer work as a disaster mental health counselor for the American Red Cross and is active in the community where she serves on several agency boards.  

 

 

   Christine Tebaldi is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with a specialty in Emergency Services and Disaster Mental Health.  She completed her nursing education and began her career at the University of Rochester. Currently, she holds a clinical and administrative position at McLean Hospital.  She has held several leadership roles with the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.  Ms. Tebaldi is an active member of the American Red Cross as well as a disaster mental health instructor. 

 

 

 

 

 

   Julie Vickery lives in Palmerston North New Zealand, and is the Charge Nurse of the MidCentral Health District Nursing Service. This service provides intermediary care linking primary and secondary services. This service is free of charge to all patients.Julie’s passion for nursing is to achieve the best possible of care for the patient on the journey through primary and secondary services, through excellent coordination and communication.

Julie is married and has 3 adult children.

 

 

   Chad Ware RN, CEN, EMT-PS  has been involved with Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness since 2001. He is a member of Iowa’s Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team, IA-1.  He has responded to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike as well as participated in Health and Human Services response to New Orleans. Chad's most recent disaster experience was found at home with the Iowa Floods. Chad assisted in coordinating the successful evacuation of 183 patients when the flood waters reached the front doors of Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids. Chad has worked as an Emergency Department Nurse and currently holds the position of Emergency Management Coordinator at Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.