Lovell FHCC DEMPS volunteers help after hurricanes and during COVID-19 pandemic
By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Minh-Thy Chu
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. – Nicole Gilkey already helps veterans daily in her job as a nursing assistant at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center; however, when Hurricane Laura hit Mississippi, she felt like she could do more.
“This is my way to give back … all of our soldiers fight for us, and we’ve got to be there for them. This is my way of being there for them,” Gilkey said.
Gilkey was one of two FHCC staff members who volunteered to help at the Montgomery (Sonny) Veterans Affairs Medical Center through the Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS). She deployed to Jackson, Miss. for two weeks to help the VA facility deal with the effects of Hurricane Laura. DEMPS is the Veterans Health Administration’s main deployment program for clinical and non-clinical staff to an emergency or disaster. Gilkey and Jan Genovez, a resident assistant at FHCC, augmented staff at the Montgomery VAMC and helped provide for the increased volume of patients at the facility.
“Bringing in DEMPS allowed them to still care for the patients that were already there and for the newcomers as well, until the time they were able to go back to their original location,” Gilkey said.
Hurricane Laura, an extremely dangerous storm, devastated Louisiana and areas of surrounding states this past August. The storm hit Louisiana most severely, leaving many parts without running water and electricity, including the Lake Charles VA Clinic. This meant other VA facilities in the area had to step up to provide care for patients in need.
DEMPS gives VA employees the chance to mobilize for their jobs to help where needed during natural and other disasters across the country.
“My grandfather was a veteran,” Gilkey said. “After he passed, and even before he passed, I really wanted to be in the military, but I guess I was too chicken then,” she laughed. “No, I’m not in the military, and I’m not doing what you did, but I honor what you’ve done, and this is my way of showing it.”
While she was at the Montgomery VAMC, Gilkey worked mainly on the overflow unit, doing the same tasks she is usually assigned at FHCC Lovell.
After working with DEMPS volunteers who were deployed to Lovell FHCC earlier this year, Genovez made the decision to join DEMPS and has not regretted it since.
“I would totally encourage everyone who can do it to register for DEMPS,” he said. “There
should definitely be more people registered and involved in it.”
Genovez has always wanted to travel for nursing and found that DEMPS was the perfect opportunity to travel and serve.
“I feel like I was with a lot of like-minded individuals, so it made the experience even better” Gilkey said. “When you’re away from home for a while, some people get homesick but being with everyone, you still feel comfortable because you’re with people that are there to complete the same goal. Us having all that motivation kept us there day-in and day-out taking care of these veterans.”
FHCC Nursing Assistant Jacqueline Namale is another DEMPS volunteer, who was one of the first to deploy early in the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the VA’s Fourth Mission. Namale deployed to Travis Air Force Base for two weeks in February 2019 to monitor and aid quarantined international travelers. She helped screen travelers and assist them with their daily needs. She also helped run daily activities to help the many children in quarantine stay busy.
An additional two FHCC DEMPS volunteers deployed under the Fourth Mission to assist at state homes for veterans in Charlotte, N.C. and Richmond, Va.
VA’s “Fourth Mission” is to improve the nation’s preparedness for response to war, terrorism, national emergencies, and natural disasters by developing plans and taking actions to ensure continued service to veterans, as well as to support national, state, and local emergency management, public health, safety and homeland security efforts.
Since FHCC Lovell was established in 2010 as the nation’s first fully integrated federal health care center in support of both the Department of Defense and VA, its mission has been “Readying Warriors, Caring for Heroes.” The FHCC’s patients include military members, military family members and veterans in Southeast Wisconsin and Northeast Illinois.
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.19.2020 16:02 |
| Story ID: | 383385 |
| Location: | NORTH CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 173 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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