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From start to finish, my first semester in graduate school was full of multiple first-time experiences. Before becoming a student at Campbell University, almost all of my previous knowledge stemmed from the exercise science discipline. In my part-time work, I am a group fitness instructor and personal trainer. I had no idea what public health truly entailed or even meant just five months ago. Now that the semester is dwindling down, I can now say that I have fallen in love with a once-unknown subject, and cannot wait to see what my future holds within it.

The very beginning of my semester at Campbell started out with meeting my group practicum members and our practicum preceptor. I knew I had joined the fitting practicum group of Team Prepare when I learned that my preceptor was a volunteer firefighter, one student was once a volunteer firefighter, another student was a National Guard US Army 2nd Lieutenant, as well as another student had previously worked with part of Duke University’s hospital and helicopter crew. Team Prepare was full of eager students, with different back-stories, and ready to get out and provide community members the knowledge and resources of what it means to be prepared for an emergency disaster. Initially, our first team goal was to attend the Denim Days community event. For this event we had to contact multiple different resources and personnel, to confirm our booth and show time at the event. Additionally for Denim Days, we used the FEMA website to order over 100 different flyers, brochures, and pamphlets as hard copy education to provide to the people who attended the event. I had no idea that FEMA provided FREE documents that can anyone can order. This is public education that can be provided to anyone but no one knows about its availability. The pamphlets included information regarding, what to do with pet’s in an emergency, if you’re an elderly person, emergency kits, and survival tips in case of an emergency. Moving forward in my career and just as a person, I can provide this basic knowledge to people who may need it. Even the extra pamphlets that I have at my apartment, I can deliver them to other people who would have otherwise never known.

The next goal after Denim Days within our group practicum was to figure out a way to begin the research process, studying the prevalence of PTSD within our local first responders in Harnett County. Looking back on the first discussion of this part of the project, I had no idea how meaningful and passionate many of us within Team Prepare would become to the subject. A consensus we all established when first looking at the project, was stating that this profession has a heavy stigma of what mental health is, and that it is a very under-discussed topic within their own demographic let alone the professional side. We as a group kept this in mind as we created our survey and as we visited the fire departments. We wanted to be very careful about how we phrased certain things when discussing mental health and PTSD so that we would not offend someone’s prior beliefs of getting help.

Before we even began administering surveys and visiting fire departments, Team Prepare had to develop a survey and send our research study idea into the university’s International Review Board (IRB). Submitting a research study to the IRB was a very first experience for me. I had never once done anything like it or understood why, until about 4 weeks into my first semester. With the addition of another assignment, we had to complete modules that taught us the purpose and history behind why the IRB exists, with the addition to learning different social and behavioral factors to take into account when working with a community. After all the time I spent during my undergraduate career, using journal articles and research studies to help write my papers, I did not realize how much it took to initiate a project as well as the research itself.

Administering the surveys themselves is a whole other experience. As a graduate student, with no prior experience in the emergency responder field, being inside of a fire department was another first. The firefighters themselves are very welcoming and genuine people (at least the department’s I have visited so far). The majority of them also want to receive the future data and feedback we receive from our surveys. One particular firefighter, from the FlatBranch Volunteer fire department, was very eager in getting the data we get and giving it back to them. Most of the older men and women within the field are not naïve to believe that mental health problems do not exist within their field. They want to understand any prevalence they might have and figure out ways they can better prevent suicides or suicide attempts within their occupation.

Going forward into my next semester, I want to continue this research within the emergency management field. I did not realize how little attention and help first responders, even more so rural, receive for any mental health or PTSD resources. For my individual practicum, I hope to study the telecommunicator’s branch of emergency responders and study the prevalence they have.

Great way to finish up our semester long project. Team Prepare was able to present all of what we have been working on for the passed 4 months!

I am very excited to continue working on PTSD in rural first responders for my next practicum in the spring!

Within the last few weeks of our fall semester, a lot of Team Prepare’s long lasting hard work in the classroom and on the phone, has finally been put into place. We initially spoke of our Harnett County first responder survey during our very first group meeting back in August. Since then, we have had our survey and consent form have been approved by Campbell’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Team Prepare has started administering them to fire, police, and EMS departments throughout the county. I did not realize how much little attention was already not given by first responders and PTSD, especially in rural areas. The data we get back from all of the surveys may not be completely collected until the end of the semester, but many of us want continue with this topic for our individual practicum or even our capstone for next year.

As a Marine, many of my comrades from my reserve unit are first responders. Whether being, police officer or firefighter, many of the people whom I know and work with, has a full time or part time positions within these professions. As a graduate student now and future public health professional, I want to study these underserved populations and how we can better improve their workplace and to help the individuals themselves to help reduce PTSD and fatal suicides that occur within the first responder workforce.

I believe that the rural areas that we are focusing on in our project, allow an even more underserved population’s PTSD risk, come to light. Last week, I visited three first responder departments to administer our survey: Buies Creek Fire Department, FlatBranch Volunteer Fire Department and Dunn Police Department. Among our entire group, we are working toward administering our surveys to at least 20 different total first responder departments. With just the three departments that I have visited already, there is a common feeling that I gathered from each of them: family. I believe that departments in rural communities have a tighter community relationship within their own department and whom they serve compared to urban departments. Many first responders departments in rural areas only have half the number of employees staffed compared to urban. For example, Durham Police Department has over 100-sworn officers, compared to Erwin and Coats who only had 30 sworn officers or less. When I went to the monthly staff meeting at FlatBranch Volunteer Fire Department last week, there were only 20 people who showed up to the entire meeting. Smaller staffed first responder departments allow for these closer relationships to be created within themselves as well as the communities they serve.

The PTSD and mental health surveys that we are administering are getting a lot more feedback than we initially anticipated. One of the questions asks specifically about the stigma about mental health and if it exists within the profession as a whole. Within rural communities, rural people tend to be more self reliant and independent. This self-reliance leads to people avoiding the conversation of needing help and causing any mental issues to worsen. Urban areas more medical help and more frequent evaluations of mental health than those who work and live in rural areas. Having this research project that focuses on rural areas, allows these first responders to have an outlet about something that they might not normally be able to talk about with their coworkers, out of the stigma of being labeled crazy or unstable.

Having this opportunity to go to rural departments and create this survey has created a bigger interest of mine to study more about first responders. Knowing many first responders myself, I want to be able to learn more about how we can help those who help us. If we can learn about the prevalence of first responders in rural areas, we can learn how to reduce that rate. Reducing the rate of PTSD and mental issues will allow first responders to better perform their jobs as well.

Team Prepare initially focused on disaster relief and emergency preparedness at the start of the semester when Hurricane Matthew made it’s way to the United States. It was easier for our group to create a sense of importance and urgency for people of the community. When we went to Denim Days in early October, many community members did not seem very interested in our booth or the information we had to offer until they found out we had free Bojangle’s biscuit voucher to hand out. Unfortunately our country is a country of response, not prevention. The lack of urgency for people to want to be prepared for an emergency, rather than deal with it as it comes, is what needs to change. Our goal in Team Prepare was specifically to emphasize that importance with being prepared in order to mitigate damage during an emergency.

As we progressed throughout the semester we learned that putting the information in a simple way of understanding to gain their interest, while still providing the most important parts will increase their understanding of being prepared for a disaster.

Team Prepare planning for our final presentation and first responder visits throughout the county. Trying to finish up the semester focusing on bringing awareness to the PTSD that occurs within rural first responders.

Team Prepare is going around all over Harnett County to get feedback on our first responder PTSD survey.

What an opportunity we have to retrieve such valuable data. A few of my teammates may be using the data we receive to use for their next semester practicum or capstone!

Team Prepare got to work on the phone last week!

Each of us called a total of 15 fire departments to schedule when we can administer our PTSD survey to first responders all across Harnett County.

I am looking forward to the data we get back and how we can help those who in the future who have the difficult job of keeping our communities safe.

Lunch with my fellow graduate students at a local BBQ joint in Warsaw, NC.

This week we all had the opportunity to meet with local community advocates for environmental injustice. This was such an eye-opening experience to get a complete understanding of the detrimental effects they deal with on a day to day basis.

I hope to make my capstone about the environmental injustices surrounding meat farms.

Pictures above represent the aftermath of Wayne County, NC from Hurricane Matthew, just 60 miles from my home. This is just ONE county out of hundreds that have been directly affected from this weekends storm.

Team Prepare hopes to emphasize the importance on further ways to help prepare communities for an emergency such as a hurricane and severe flooding. Whether that is having an emergency kit, knowing the community evacuation routes, or boarding up your home before a storm; we want to help educate the people on preparing for the worst!

Team Prepare and our awesome preceptor participated at Denim Days this passed weekend in Erwin, NC.

What a great experience to have with my fellow students to be able to share with the public the importance of disaster preparedness!

Nearly a month and a half into my first-year graduate school experience, I have had a lot of new information packed into my brain. From rural healthcare to disaster relief, I am continuing to learn what the subject of public health entails. Team Prepare and Myself have also come a long way since our first sit down meeting with our preceptor for our semester-long project. We have narrowed down our goals about how we are going to engage with the people of Erwin at Denim Days and teach them about disaster relief. Since this is our first event, Team Prepare is doing a lot of research on Harnett County’s emergency disaster plan and will be creating a game show to help test the community’s own knowledge on natural disasters and emergency preparation. We did not realize how much prior preplanning was required by all of the affiliated agencies, volunteers, and health departments involved to set up this community event. Something even just our group discovered throughout our weekly sessions is that the education on emergency preparation for natural disasters is minimal if not nonexistent in communities and schools. We have found it challenging just to find Harnett County specific information about emergency management and procedures in case of an incident. Their website has a lot of general information about natural disasters and distinguishing their differences, but nothing about evacuation routes or shelters in the area. Our preceptor helped our group a ton with his large network of professional contacts. Since he has been working in these same communities for years, he made it easier for us to communicate with other organizations just by referencing his name.

Another great aspect of our practicum project, that is not included with Denim Days, is our involvement with first responders and mental health, specifically firefighters. First responders are the city’s first primary source of protection and defense of the innocent. Their jobs require much more mental strength, courage, and stability to perform day-to-day tasks. Due to the immense amount of high-stress situations that first responders endure, Team Prepare wanted to study the stigma of seeking mental health help and the resources that are provided or not provided. This subject hits home for me because my fiancee is in law enforcement and I know that with the demands of the job, mental health problems can arise. I think this aspect of our project is just as important as the emergency preparedness work because first responders tend to get the reputation of resilient, “hard-ass”, and “super-hero like”.Regardless of the reputation they have earned, they are not invincible and are capable of needing help when it comes to any mental problems.

Team Prepare has already submitted and received an approved IRB for our first responder study. We plan on visiting multiple local fire departments in Harnett County and discussing with their first chiefs if we can hand anonymous surveys to their entire department. The main focus of our survey is to get data on the demographics of the firefighter’s themselves, any medical diagnoses due to their work, and their access to mental health resources within their work. The data we receive will be analyzed to assess if first responders are provided the adequate amount of health resources even with the stigma that mental health carries. It is very important that we study this group of individuals because of their selfless service to communities. In 2015 alone a total of 131 firefighters and EMT personnel committed suicide. We as future public health professionals must provide the knowledge and resources to occupations where it is generally ignored or under discussed.

Other forms of implementing or even changing this idea within first responders is to talk about it openly within departments. Just like the lecture about oral and anal sex in adolescents, the subject of suicide and other mental health problems tend to be ignored. Education classes on suicide risk factors and warning signs need to be implemented in departments, either from an outside professional or a certified one of their own. It would be more likely for a firefighter to relate or be willing to listen to another firefighter about a sensitive subject, such as suicide, versus a stranger who does not personally go through what they do.

Team Prepare and myself want to stress the importance, awareness, and alarming occurrence of first responders and mental health problems. They carry the burden that the majority of us will never experience because of their line of work and they deserve all the necessary support to continue doing their job to their best ability. Personally, dealing with an excessive amount of stress always affects my work or academic performance. If first responders deal with a lot of stress and have no outlet to reduce or manage it, then there job performance can affect the lives of other people. Our group project is to help spread the awareness within first responder health and provide the resources that some may have been missing.

Team Prepare is dialing in on the details for Denim Days next Saturday in Erwin, NC!

Come out and test your knowledge on disaster preparedness and support your Campbell Camels!

When you need to meet with your preceptor on your practicum, but he’s busy at work!

Team Prepare absolutely loves our group advisor David Hesselmeyer!

Team prepare met today to establish last minute details about an upcoming event! More to come!

Work, work, work!

Team Prepare looking into finding the best resources to get their preparedness booth fully stocked with great information to the rural populations of NC!

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”- B. Franklin

Just a few months prior, the only true discipline of health that I studied and practiced was the biomechanics behind the body and how to strengthen and rehabilitate it through exercise. Within the last four weeks I have significantly increased a new knowledge within the discipline of health, specifically rural health. Rural health consists of how rural populations receive health care and the health of the people in those areas. Different factors make it exponentially much more difficult for rural populations to access health care compared to their urban counterparts. From the very first lecture I was hooked immediately on what I can do to help change the inequalities amongst our rural populations. Rural health is such an important and under-discussed topic that I had no idea would create such an interest.

All of my childhood and adult life has been spent in the “less urban” parts of a city. Where, within just a few miles, there are two-lane backcountry roads that divide the horse farms from the cornfields. Never once driving through these parts of my home state did it ever cross my mind that certain people living in these areas were as underprivileged, in many aspects, when it comes to health care. Just a few weeks ago we were assigned our practicum groups that partner us up with different organizations that directly work for these rural populations. These organizations consist of numerous people willing to help provide a range of services such as medical care, clean and safe food, clean water, or educating the public on different health issues. These leaders within the community are what provide the easiest link to rural populations (and for some people the only link), the access to any type health care. My team is partnered with an emergency response/natural disaster company, On Target Preparedness that makes up Team Prepare.

Having lived in both the county and the city, a big difference between the two is that cities contain much bigger advantages. These advantages include quicker response times to natural disasters and more immediate resources for the people. The density of a city also makes it the first priority when it comes to the utilization of emergency sources such as the National Guard. On a bigger scale, an example of this would be during Hurricane Katrina where they utilized the football stadium for public shelter and the National Guard was able to provide nutrition and medical care to mass numbers. In rural communities, they often rely on one or two neighbors nearby but lack the funding and facilities to overcome these natural disasters. Team Prepare is designated to work with Scotland and Harnett counties to help promote what it means to be prepared in case of a severe storm or an emergency would occur. We are excited to see what we can put together to help the people within our own community learn what it truly means to be prepared.

One of our biggest hurdles within Team Prepare is determining what is the best way to represent this information that entices the public to want it. We want our preparedness display and kit to be appealing and effective in its ability to show people that what we are providing to them is a necessity. We do not want to be another booth just handing out flyers and brochures. We want to be interactive with the community and showing them that the information we have is imperative to their life, if something were to happen. One of the biggest challenges as a whole is that the “idea of preparedness” is hard to drill into the minds of people who have never experience a natural disaster before. If it is not happening right now, it makes the concept harder to emphasize the importance of. Bringing emergency response awareness to rural communities through hands on interventions is our ultimate goal as Team Prepare. Natural disasters could come at any time of the year and to any geographic location around the world. No individual person or community is free of any susceptibilities that come when a storm hits. It could simply happen to anyone. The only way to mitigate the risk is to be educated on what it means in order to be fully prepared when a disaster strikes. Team Prepare and I want to teach people what it means to have enough supplies to last for 72 hours, what to do with pets when you have to evacuate a flooded home, or how to re-enforce your home against the elements. So many aspects are involved when it comes to emergency response preparedness. If my practicum group can emphasize and educate just a few of these concepts to the public, it could save many lives.

Putting in work with Team Prepare!

This is an after-action shot of Team Prepare and our awesome preceptor David Hesselmeyer with On Target Prepardness. Stay tuned for more to come with our group Practicum!

Starring: Practicum group Team Prepare!

Very excited to share the beginnings of a long journey with my fellow classmates in our semester project. We are partnering up with On Target Preparedness to get a grasp of what it means to plan and promote awareness for natural disaster relief & emergency response.

Follow along for the journey!

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