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Jan. 17, 2012 Teens complete CERT training for emergency response ROLLA — When citizens know how to respond during emergencies as a team, they help make their community a safer place. Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) have been formed for this purpose throughout the six-county Region I area with adults and teens stepping up to action. The Region I Homeland Security Oversight Committee (HSOC) and the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) used a grant from the Missouri Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to sponsor a free 20-hour teen CERT training at Rolla Technical Center (RTC) from October to December 2011. HSOC provided the students with course materials, manuals and training backpacks, which included tools, hard hats, safety vets, first aid kits, flashlights and batteries. Two classes of approximately 25 students each attended the training. Students participated from area schools including Belle, Bourbon, Cuba, Licking, Owensville, Rolla, Salem, Steelville, St. James and Vienna. The students enrolled are all pursuing careers in health care after post-secondary education. The teen CERT emphasizes being a part of a team to assist first responders during a disaster event. During the training, teens practiced skills in first aid, light search and rescue, emergency decision making procedures, fire suppression, triage, community preparedness, hazard mitigation, damage assessments, team well being and more. Byron Burke and Terry Bruno were the CERT instructors. Faculty members for the class at RTC Health Science Academy were Lynne Bergman, Beth Zmich and Vikki Parsell. Burke, an Army Special Forces veteran of more than 20 years, has been teaching CERT for the past six years. Burke noted one of the most rewarding aspects of the class for students is to have completed a federally recognized training program, have basic life skills to use in a crisis situation and have the tools to use in planning for or responding to emergencies. “I am always surprised with motivations and what the kids take away. We try to emphasize both being prepared for emergencies, and if they want - to be a part of a group to help their neighbors to assist those effected by emergencies,” Burke said. Bruno is currently a family nurse practitioner with Texas County Memorial Hospital. She has worked as an EMT, paramedic, emergency room R.N. and volunteer firefighter and has volunteered for multiple emergencies across the country. She has worked in her community with disaster and hospital emergency preparedness and has been teaching CERT for four years. Bruno explained the teen CERT is designed to motivate students to interact with their families to develop plans for emergency preparedness and empower them to be active in their communities. “The importance of courses like this is to educate yourself on what you and your family need to do to survive emergencies. I feel it is an added benefit to join a CERT team and be able to help others in the community,” Bruno said. Ten of the participating students will participate in the voluntary Missouri CERT competition in March. For more information regarding local CERT trainings, contact Amy McMillen, environmental programs specialist at Meramec Regional Planning Commission, at 573-265-2993 or by email at amcmillen@meramecregion.org. The Region I HSOC, established along the boundaries of the State Highway Patrol Troop I, includes Crawford, Dent, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Laclede counties. Three counties in the Meramec Region—Gasconade, Osage and Washington—are served through other regions. Gasconade and Osage counties are a part of Troop F, which is being coordinated by the Mid-Missouri Regional Planning Commission at Ashland while Washington County is a part of Troop C, which is coordinated by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission at Perryville.
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