Integrated Care Condolence Teams for Missing, Injured or Deceased Standards and Procedures Disaster Cycle Services Standards & Procedures DCS SP Respond January 2016
Change Log Date Page(s) Section Change 1/19/2016 9-10 Recruitment and Training Added information regarding the addition of the qualification of Integrated Care Condolence Team to a responder s Volunteer Connection profile Author: Respond 2
Change Log... 2 Introduction... 5 Purpose... 5 Relation to Other Documents... 5 Audience... 5 Scope... 5 Out of Scope... 5 Definitions... 6 Integrated Care Team... 6 Outreach... 6 Integrated Care Condolence Team... 6 Disaster Health Services... 6 Disaster Mental Health... 6 Casework and Recovery Planning... 6 Disaster Spiritual Care... 7 Roles, Responsibilities and Authorities... 7 Integrated Care Condolence Team Member... 7 Integrated Care Condolence Team Lead... 7 Integrated Care Condolence Team Coordinator... 7 National Headquarters Liaison... 7 Integrated Care Condolence Team Program Standards and Procedures... 8 Overview of Standards... 8 A Team Approach ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Confidentiality ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Recruitment and Training... 9 Competencies ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Recruitment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Training ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 Volunteer Connection Qualification ----------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Deployment of Integrated Care Condolence Teams... 10 Integrated Care Condolence Teams on local or regional responses ---------------------------- 10 Integrated Care Condolence Teams on mass casualty and large disaster operations --------- 10 Author: Respond 3
Integrated Care Condolence Team Procedures... 10 Overview... 10 Preparation for Integrated Care Condolence Team visits... 11 Death Verification and Fatality Support... 11 Conducting Visits... 12 Support to Injured Clients and Their Families ----------------------------------------------------- 12 Support to Families Whose Loved One is Missing ----------------------------------------------- 12 Follow Up Procedures... 12 Referrals... 13 Team Transitions... 13 Recovery Phase... 14 Working with Community Partners... 14 Role of Mobilize the Community Process... 15 Staff Care Responsibilities... 15 Team Lead/Coordinator Responsibilities... 15 Responder Responsibilities... 15 Before taking an Integrated Care Condolence Team assignment ------------------------------- 15 While assigned to an Integrated Care Condolence Team --------------------------------------- 16 Post-Assignment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Author: Respond 4
Introduction The Integrated Care Condolence Team approach is a comprehensive service delivery method that provides coordination and provision of services to families whose loved ones are missing, injured or deceased. Casework and recovery planning, disaster spiritual care, disaster mental health and disaster health services are offered concurrently as needed in order to minimize intrusion and maximize care, comfort and support. Services are delivered to families during all types of responses, from single family fires to incidents with large numbers of fatalities, injuries or missing. Purpose The purpose of this document is to describe the process, activities, standards, responsibilities and authorities, and control mechanisms for the integrated care condolence team approach. Relation to Other Documents This document is supported by the following documents: Disaster Cycle Services Respond Program Framework Disaster Cycle Services Respond Program Essentials Casework and Recovery Planning Standards and Procedures Disaster Mental Health Handbook Health Services Handbook Disaster Spiritual Care Standards and Procedures Guidance for Developing and Implementing Field Disaster Partnerships Mobilize the Community Framework Mobilize the Community Program Essentials These documents provide detailed procedures on the respective functions. Audience The audience for this document includes Casework and Recovery Planning responders, Disaster Spiritual Care responders, Disaster Health Services responders, Disaster Mental Health responders, Community Partnerships personnel, mass care leadership, Disaster Action Teams, operations management staff, and the local, regional and divisional levels responsible for supporting families whose loved ones are missing, injured or deceased. Scope The activities covered in this document include Integrated Care Condolence Team contacts with friends and families of missing, injured and deceased loved ones. Out of Scope In the case of aviation or other large transportation disasters, the Red Cross Memorandum of Understanding with the National Transportation Safety Board dictates requirements for provision of disaster mental health, disaster spiritual care and childcare. Transportation incidents are discussed in other doctrine and are not considered part of the procedures outlined in this document. The implementation and administration of family assistance centers and family and friends receptions centers are also out of scope for this document. Author: Respond 5
Definitions Integrated Care Team The term, Integrated Care Team refers to any multi-activity team that consists of staff from more than one function. This term and the team may be used in several different ways. A multi-activity Integrated Care Team is employed in outreach, condolence calls and other service delivery strategies that involve more than one function. For the purpose of this document, we will focus on integrated care teams as they are involved in condolence visits and support for families whose loved ones are missing, injured, hospitalized or deceased due to the disaster. Outreach Outreach is a service delivery strategy in which Red Cross responders approach community households throughout an impacted area to provide resources, information and support. Outreach teams may consist of responders from various functions, including but not limited to, casework and recovery planning, disaster health services, disaster mental health, disaster spiritual care, mass care and damage assessment. Integrated Care Condolence Team An integrated care condolence team conducts the outreach activity consisting of a supportive contact with a family by a team of Red Cross responders that may include responders from any of the following functions disaster spiritual care, disaster mental health, disaster health services, and client casework and recovery planning. The integrated care condolence team conducts integrated care condolence calls to reach out to families when there has been a death or serious injury, or when the family is waiting for the outcome of missing loved ones. Each team includes at least two responders with a maximum of four depending on the needs and size of the family. Disaster Health Services The Disaster Health Services function brings expertise in disaster-related health issues and is frequently the point of contact with coroners, medical examiners and hospitals. Casework and recovery planning training is required for Disaster Health Service responders. Disaster Mental Health The Disaster Mental Health function brings expertise on disaster-related mental health issues and advocates for the emotional well-being of the family. Casework and Recovery Planning The Casework and Recovery Planning function provides recovery planning, problem solving, information and referrals to other resources, advocacy on request, direct client assistance for qualified clients and follow-up assistance as the recovery progresses. This function also brings expertise in the use of CAS and appropriate documentation. Author: Respond 6
Disaster Spiritual Care The Disaster Spiritual Care function assists disaster clients to use their spiritual resources, values and faith in the midst of crisis. This function provides direct support of clients and works with community resources to connect clients to the spiritual care provider of their choice. Roles, Responsibilities and Authorities Integrated Care Condolence Team Member All Integrated Care Condolence Team members are assigned by and report to the Integrated Care Condolence Team leader. Integrated Care Condolence Team members are responsible for providing services to families of missing, injured or deceased clients. Responders on the Integrated Care Condolence Team are trained in Integrated Care Condolence Team responsibilities and in their respective functions in order to be assigned to this team. The functions involved in an Integrated Care Condolence Team are Disaster Health Services, Disaster Mental Health, Client Casework and Recovery Planning, and Disaster Spiritual Care. Integrated Care Condolence Team Lead The team lead is assigned by and reports to the Integrated Care Condolence Team Coordinator on large events or a Disaster Program Manager on smaller events. On smaller events, the team lead also fulfills the role of Integrated Care Condolence Team Coordinator. The Integrated Care Condolence Team Lead is responsible for maintaining contact with the family, as determined by the needs of the family, supervising team members, preparing for and conducting family visits, and assigning team members to specific family contacts. Integrated Care Condolence Team Coordinator On large mass casualty events, a coordinator is assigned by and reports to the Assistant Director of Operations. This coordinator could be from any one of the functions involved in integrated care. The coordinator is responsible for assigning Integrated Care Condolence Team tasks to multiple teams. The coordinator is responsible for facilitating adequate and appropriate coverage from all involved functions on each team to meet the needs of affected families and gathering information, materials and resources needed by the teams. The coordinator is also responsible for smooth transitions between Integrated Care Condolence Team assignments. On smaller events, this position may not be necessary and the responsibilities will be fulfilled by the Integrated Care Condolence Team Lead. National Headquarters Liaison The national headquarters Liaison is appointed by the Director, Response Services, and provides support and guidance, when requested, to the Integrated Care Condolence Team Coordinator and other members of the Integrated Care Condolence Teams. This position is also responsible for creation, dissemination and continuous improvement of doctrine related to the Integrated Care Condolence Team approach. Author: Respond 7
Integrated Care Condolence Team Program Standards and Procedures Overview of Standards Integrated Care Condolence Teams are one strategy for the American Red Cross to provide services to families whose loved one is missing, injured or deceased. The trigger for choosing this tactic is a need for coordination of provision of services for affected families. In many circumstances, especially when there has been a loss of life, many agencies and organizations converge to provide services for families. Families may feel overwhelmed and intruded upon if care is not taken to approach the families with respect for their privacy and consideration of their possibly fragile emotional state. An Integrated Care Condolence Team can provide an array of services in a minimal number of contacts with a minimal number of responders. The Integrated Care Condolence Team is designed as a follow up after an event. It is not part of the disaster action team response; rather an Integrated Care Condolence Team is assembled to provide support and resources at a later time and place convenient for the families. At the time of the event, the immediate Red Cross support may include strengthening of coping skills and provision of health services, such as replacement of lost medications or durable medical equipment to clients. The word assignment as used in this guidance refers to responses of all sizes and scales from a local disaster response operation such as a disaster action team response to large mass casualty responses. A Team Approach Each family has unique needs. Often, in large mass casualty incidents, many disaster workers feel a desire to respond to the needs of the families who have been affected. The Red Cross Integrated Care Condolence Team is designed to protect the family from contacts or visits from multiple Red Cross responders or teams by providing comprehensive services in one visit. Because the Red Cross Integrated Care Condolence Team may have responders from various disciplines (Disaster Spiritual Care, Disaster Mental Health, Disaster Health Services and Casework and Recovery Planning), an Integrated Care Condolence Team can address many of the family s specific concerns at one time. Each team consists of a minimum of two members. Depending on the needs and the size of the families, the team may include all four functions, as long as the number of responders does not overwhelm the family. A team approach results in an efficient and effective strategy to meet the needs of our clients. Confidentiality The primary ethical concern of all Integrated Care Condolence Teams is the need to maintain the client s privacy and treat all client information as confidential. Even though more than one person is involved in a family s case, all responders must be aware of their obligation to avoid divulging any details of the family s situation to anyone who does not have a clear need to know such information. Integrated Care Condolence Team members may discuss the case amongst themselves as necessary, but should never disclose information outside the team unless absolutely necessary. All team members are obligated to uphold the Red Cross policy on protecting personal information. In addition, as applicable, team members adhere to their professional codes of ethics. Author: Respond 8
Recruitment and Training Competencies The following competencies apply to Integrated Care Condolence Team members: Work collaboratively with responders from other functions. Understand the basic elements of grief processes. Be familiar with principles of cultural competence. Display comfort when working with families from other cultures. Know current casework procedures, including knowledge of CAS 2.0 and procedures related to Client Assistance Cards. Recruitment The Integrated Care Condolence Team coordinator requests team members from the leads of the four functions (Disaster Mental Health, Disaster Health Services, Disaster Spiritual Care, and Casework and Recovery Planning). Each function lead has the responsibility of designating Integrated Care Condolence Team members and providing technical supervision for their team members during the assignment. The function lead has the option of rotating team members out of the Integrated Care Condolence Team assignment when they are needed elsewhere. Training Integrated Care Condolence Team members must be fully trained in their respective functions. In addition, all Integrated Care Condolence Team members must complete the following training: Integrated Care Condolence Team Fundamentals: a four-hour instructor-led course that trains responders to work on a multi-disciplinary team to provide services to families. Casework and Recovery Planning Fundamentals Direct Client Assistance Fundamentals Psychological First Aid When responders are assigned to an Integrated Care Condolence Team, they will need to attend an Integrated Care Condolence Team orientation presented by the Integrated Care Condolence Team Lead or Coordinator. Because the situations surrounding casualty operations are often unique and logistics and organization frequently differ from other disasters, all team members need to be fully briefed on the circumstances of that particular operation. Volunteer Connection Qualification After a qualified responder in Disaster Mental Health, Disaster Health Services, Disaster Spiritual Care, or Casework and Recovery Planning has successfully completed the Integrated Care Condolence Team Fundamentals Training, that responder should contact his or her local Disaster Workforce Engagement person or designee to request an addition of the qualification of Integrated Care Condolence Teams to the responder s Volunteer Connection profile. When creating Integrated Care Condolence Teams on a disaster response, the Author: Respond 9
coordinator or team leader should choose responders with this qualification on their Volunteer Connection profile before those without the qualification. Only the four functions specified above are eligible to receive this qualification on their Volunteer Connection profiles. Deployment of Integrated Care Condolence Teams An Integrated Care Condolence Team may be assigned on any type of response where there has been a loss of life, serious injury or missing loved ones. The procedures for service delivery are the same in all types of responses. Responders follow the guidance of their respective functions and also the procedures specific to Integrated Care Condolence Team service delivery. Service delivery is successful when all families have been contacted and services have been offered or provided, as appropriate. Following are specific actions for local and larger responses. Integrated Care Condolence Teams on local or regional responses A Disaster Action Team captain, Disaster Program Manager or other local disaster leader may ask for an Integrated Care Condolence Team to be assigned to a family for follow-up services. The Disaster Action Team captain or the Disaster Program Manager initially assigns an available responder from one of the functions to be the leader of the Integrated Care Condolence Team. The Integrated Care Condolence Team lead may be reassigned as the needs of the family dictate. Integrated Care Condolence Teams on mass casualty and large disaster operations On large responses, especially those involving mass casualties, the Assistant Director of Operations makes the request for an Integrated Care Condolence Team and appoints an Integrated Care Condolence Team Coordinator. The coordinator is responsible for ensuring that families receive comprehensive service delivery and care. The coordinator appoints the leads for each of the assigned teams. The coordinator and the leads may be responders from any of the four functions (Casework and Recovery Planning, Disaster Mental Health, Disaster Health Services or Disaster Spiritual Care) that are part of the Integrated Care Condolence Teams. Integrated Care Condolence Team Procedures Overview Integrated Care Condolence Teams provide comprehensive services to individuals and families whose loved one is injured, missing or deceased due to the disaster. Integrated Care Condolence Teams are composed of disaster health service responders, caseworkers, disaster mental health responders or disaster spiritual care responders as determined by the needs of the particular client situation. These teams speak to families at hospitals, homes, over the telephone or at other sites as requested by the family to provide support. Types of support include practical assistance to meet basic immediate needs that are appropriate to the specific situation. The purpose is to promote resilience, to connect clients to resources and to provide a step-by-step planning process to support recovery. The teams do not conduct death notifications; families will already be notified of the status of their loved one before contact from an Integrated Care Condolence Team. However, contact to begin to provide Author: Respond 10
services can be scheduled before verification that the death was disaster-related or before contact with funeral directors or appropriate death-verification authorities. Preparation for Integrated Care Condolence Team visits The Integrated Care Condolence Team coordinator or lead starts the preparation procedures for Integrated Care Condolence Team visits. The coordinator s initial responsibility includes creating the list of families who may need integrated care services. Information about families who may need support can come from a variety of sources, including social media. For more information, see the Strategies for Developing the List of Clients and Families Job Tool located on The Exchange. Second, the Integrated Care Condolence Team coordinator identifies available teams and assigns team leads. The coordinator then assigns cases to teams and documents the assignment in CAS 2.0, to ensure the client is not contacted by other Red Cross responders. Some of these responsibilities may be delegated to a team lead or other team member. Team leads make visit arrangements with the families. The lead ascertains family information and describes Red Cross services and procedures during each phone contact. For specific tasks on how to create integrated care condolence teams, preparing to contact the families and contacting the family, use the Team Lead and Coordinator Responsibilities job tool located on The Exchange. The Integrated Care Team coordinator and team leads finalize teams by confirming and assigning members. Each team meets and is briefed by their team lead. The lead facilitates the discussion among the team members to lay out the meeting plan. Potential discussion points include: expectations of needs, review of meeting procedures, and collaboration of team members. Consider team experience and the complexity of the affected individual or family and arrange remote support for the family or team as appropriate. One member of the team should be responsible for final preparation for the Integrated Care Condolence Team meeting by gathering resource information and materials. For more information about the necessary steps, use the Preparing for a Home Visit Job Tool located on The Exchange. Death Verification and Fatality Support The coordinator or lead contacts hospitals, coroners or other agencies to confirm that the death is disasterrelated. Direct client assistance for health-related and mental-health related needs may be offered at any time. However, specific death-related expenses may only be offered when a death has been confirmed as disasterrelated by a medical examiner, coroner or other official authority. For specific steps on verifying a death and providing fatality support for the family, use the Death Verification and Fatality Support job tool located on The Exchange. The coordinator or lead identifies the agency that is responsible for determining cause of death and whether or not a fatality is disaster-related. In spite of the fact that these agencies are often exempt from HIPAA regulations, they may choose to follow HIPAA guidelines. Therefore, it is important to have a pre-established relationship in order to have a procedure in place to determine how disaster-related deaths are verified. The Integrated Care Condolence Team does not make the initial death notification to the family; however, members of the team may be asked to accompany the official notification team to support the family and the notifiers. Author: Respond 11
Conducting Visits The Integrated Care Condolence Team Lead expresses condolences and introduces the team members at the start of the visit. Ask the client to begin the conversation about their experience. Allow time for the clients to talk about whatever he or she wishes to discuss. The team listens for disaster-related needs. Next, as a means to transition into providing services for the client, the purpose of the meeting is restated. Then, the team outlines the needs that were expressed during the initial discussion at the start of the meeting. The team explains that the Integrated Care Condolence Team may provide emotional support, spiritual care, health services, casework and recovery planning, direct client assistance and referrals to the community. The dialogue continues with the team assessing the needs of the clients. The team needs to be open to asking about other needs as the case warrants. These may include, but are not limited to, children s needs and other needs not directly related to the fatality, injured or missing family member. For specific procedures on conducting a home visit, use the Conducting a Home Visit Job Tool located on The Exchange. Eligibility for various resources is determined by the team. Direct client assistance or referral information is provided as appropriate. The family has an opportunity to tell their story. The most important objective of the visit is supporting the family. Documentation for internal purposes is secondary but should be in accordance with Casework and Recovery Planning Standards and Procedures. Support to Injured Clients and Their Families In some disasters, clients sustain serious injury. An Integrated Care Condolence Team may be the appropriate service delivery strategy to deliver services to the client and family whether the client is hospitalized or laid up at home. In general, the procedures for providing service are the same as in other condolence call situations. However, if the client is hospitalized, it is important to engage the hospital social worker, chaplain or medical personnel to prevent duplication of services and ensure effective collaboration. For procedures and considerations involved in providing support to hospitalized clients, use the Support to Hospitalized Clients Job Tool located on The Exchange. Support to Families Whose Loved One is Missing When a loved one has not been confirmed as a fatality, or is simply unaccounted for, the family may need the services offered by an Integrated Care Condolence Team. A very important factor is paying attention to the family s emotional and spiritual needs in this situation. However, other types of support, including material resources and health care support may also be needed. For considerations on providing services to families of missing loved ones, use the Support to Families with a Missing Loved One Job Tool located on The Exchange. Follow Up Procedures At the point of closing a contact with a family, a follow up call or visit is scheduled to verify that identified needs have been addressed and to identify any new client needs. Also, follow-up may be warranted when additional resources become available as the Red Cross continues to partner with community resources throughout the disaster. The contact information for a designated follow-up contact and contact procedures for the short and Author: Respond 12
long term are given to the family. The client s contact information for follow up is also confirmed. When the visit ends, the team expresses condolences again. The team lead determines who is responsible for follow-up based on the client or the family s needs. Depending upon the situation and outcome during the initial Integrated Care Condolence Team visit, a follow up call or visit is scheduled to determine whether needs were met, and to provide additional information or other support as indicated, such as recovery planning, advocacy, direct client assistance, referral, health, mental health or spiritual care. Phone contact is made with the client to schedule a face-to-face visit, if requested and appropriate, and to clarify the intent of the follow up. Appropriate documentation must be completed after a home visit. In addition, the Integrated Care Condolence Team is required to meet after each client contact to discuss the visit and the family s needs. To ensure that the post-visit tasks and responsibilities are fulfilled, use the After the Home Visit Job Tool located on The Exchange. Referrals Referrals are essential for effective service delivery for clients and families. Red Cross partners with many organizations and often the number of partnerships increases throughout a disaster. The Integrated Care Condolence Team needs to know what resources are available, how to access those resources, and what the specific eligibility criteria is for each resource in order to effectively meet clients needs. In addition, multiagency resource centers (MARCs) may be set up in the community and may provide a way for clients to streamline visits to referral partners. For more information on partner resources, go to the Integrated Care Condolence Team: Working with Community Partners Job Tool on The Exchange. Team Transitions All re-assignment of team members are discussed with the team lead or the team coordinator before the team member leaves the team. If a function lead needs to reassign one of the Integrated Care Condolence Team members, the function lead informs the coordinator before re-assignment. A team member may also leave the team because they are no longer available or want to change assignments due to self-assessment. At this time, the team member shares information with the team lead to give to incoming team members. The coordinator or team lead ensures the new team member receives an orientation to the team, to include: The coordinator or team lead introduces the new team member to other team members and orients the new team member on the status of the operation and the location of paperwork, electronic files and resource lists. If this is a local disaster action team call, or if the coordinator is off site, an onsite lead or team member conducts the orientation. Open cases assigned to the team are reviewed together to share information about the client and the family as well as what resources and referrals have been provided. An easy way to provide accurate information is to include the following: situation, background, assessment and recommendation. The information that is shared also includes a quick review of closed cases, in the event one of the family members calls for more information. Team members who were not involved in the original case need to be able to understand what happened in order to help the family member after the case is closed. Author: Respond 13
When the disaster operation transitions to a local response, a handoff to a local chapter team is completed using the same procedure as above. All paperwork is turned over to the region. The Health Services lead will ensure that all confidential information is properly stored. Recovery Phase Recovery planning begins with the initial contact. The team offers follow-up services throughout their interactions with the clients. The type of follow-up service provided and the appropriate team member to conduct the follow-up is determined by the needs of the client or family. The Integrated Care Condolence Team member must complete documentation of the follow-up as required by Casework and Recovery Planning as well as Disaster Health Services or Disaster Mental Health standard procedures. Working with Community Partners The Red Cross is committed to partnerships with community organizations and other community stakeholders in order to address the disaster-related needs of clients. Regional staff and volunteers establish partnerships prior to a disaster to build capacity and pre-coordinate typically needed resources. Determining which partners and other community stakeholders to engage is determined by regions in the development of their local community mobilization strategy. The strategy outlines how to meet Disaster Cycle Services program goals and client/community needs during an emergency or a disaster operation with the participation of partners and the broader community. A full portfolio of partner resources exists with the regional and local staff. Resources specifically for clients are entered into the CAS resource directory. Caseworkers have an understanding of established resources as well as awareness of additional resources that are needed in the community related to the specific event. Integrated Care Condolence Team members need to become familiar with possible resources. The relationships with community partners are established pre-disaster and entered into the CAS resource directory. Developing and implementing these relationships through small scale events, such as single family home fires, allows for use on large scale events. For more information on resource directory maintenance, go to the Casework and Recovery Planning Standards and Procedures located on The Exchange. Below is a list of resources partners may be able to provide to clients through the Integrated Care Condolence Team. Financial assistance Transportation Clothing Childcare Durable medical equipment for people with disabilities or functional and access needs Other types of support For more information on partner resources, go to the Integrated Care Condolence Team: Working with Community Partners Job Tool on The Exchange. Author: Respond 14
Role of Mobilize the Community Process The local Community Partnerships worker has information regarding partnerships and organizations that offer services or material resources to the community. During an operation, the External Relations group will have this information. The Integrated Care Team Coordinator works with the Community Partnerships staff or the External Relations group to identify additional resources and request assistance and support either from preestablished partners or if needed, finading a partner or stakehold who could provide a needed resource. It is important for the Integrated Care Condolence Team to communicate clearly and collaborate fully with this function during an assignment. Staff Care Responsibilities The mission of the Integrated Care Condolence Team is to provide effective care to the families. In order to do this, everyone on the team must be healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The responsibility to maintain fitness to do the job falls on the responder, the supervisor and the Red Cross. Team members need to care for each other as well as themselves. Both local Integrated Care Condolence Team responses and disaster operation Integrated Care Condolence Team assignments pose risks to the responder. Team Lead/Coordinator Responsibilities Disaster workers face real risks of secondary traumatization and burnout (compassion fatigue). They encounter significant pressure (internal and external) to quickly deliver services. In this environment, worker care or self- care can be perceived as unimportant and can slide off the priority list of important tasks. In order to prevent compassion fatigue, leaders need to recognize responder risks and value efforts to reduce those risks. The following must be adhered to in all Integrated Care Condolence Team settings: All responders must complete a Pre-Assignment Self-Assessment inventory found on The Exchange and discuss the results with their supervisors. The number of assigned family visits per day must not exceed three per responder (or team). Supervisors must model self-care by taking breaks themselves. Supervisors should make staff care the team s number one priority. Responders must receive a full day off every five days. For tips and strategies on promoting staff care, go to the Supervisor Staff Care Tips Job Tool on The Exchange. Responder Responsibilities Before taking an Integrated Care Condolence Team assignment Responders are required to review their home, work and personal situations to determine if this is a good time to be assigned to an Integrated Care Condolence Team. Each responder is expected to: Author: Respond 15
Conduct an honest personal inventory using the Pre-Assignment Self-Assessment Job Tool located on The Exchange. Review the Coping with Disaster: Preparing for a Disaster Assignment brochure. Provide his or her family with the Coping with Disaster: For the Families of Disaster Workers brochure. While assigned to an Integrated Care Condolence Team It is helpful for responders to appreciate the scope of the disaster and the impact of the service provided by the team. No one does it all or is responsible for doing it all. Each Red Cross responder is a member of a large and integrated disaster response operation. While deployed, job stress can be mitigated by focusing on the quality of one s personal contribution to the overall team goal. For responders to ensure the best impact from their contributions, each responder should: Be a good team member. Assume every person on the job is committed to doing his or her best. Remember your motivation for deployment, as often as necessary. Make suggestions for improving the situation, rather than criticizing. Watch out for the wellbeing of other team members. Ask for help and take breaks as needed. The Red Cross provides resources for responders who need support. For tips on how to take care of yourself, use the Responder Self-Care Tips Job Tool located on The Exchange. Post-Assignment After an assignment, there can be many positives, as well as post-assignment challenges. Responders may experience any of the following: Nightmares, dreams, or disturbing memories that intrude and disrupt rest; Emotional numbing; Feelings of despair and hopelessness; Urges to isolate and detach from important relationships; An inability to concentrate; An increase in the use of ineffective coping strategies such as drinking, illicit drug use, etc.; Lack of enthusiasm toward relationships, and essential job and personal responsibilities. If these feelings begin to affect a responder s life, the responder should remind himself or herself that what was done was difficult, that few people are able to do this type of work, and that these feelings are the understandable and anticipated responses to the work that the responder was doing. For more information on coping strategies, go to the Coping with Disaster: Returning Home from a Disaster Assignment brochure. The next step is to reach out to the many resources that are available. The Red Cross has resources to help stressed responders, such as speaking with Staff Mental Health, Disaster Mental Health or Disaster Spiritual Care volunteers. Author: Respond 16
Every caregiver that responds to a disaster is impacted by it. The goal is to leave the disaster changed, but not overwhelmed. Quite often, the impact of a deployment is very positive. There may be a change not immediately evident and recognized when the responder returns home. Post- traumatic growth often occurs when people survive a difficult situation successfully. Responders might notice that they have become more resilient because of their experiences. Quite often, the impact of a deployment leads to post-traumatic growth. For example, responders often: Gain a sense of perspective about their own personal problems and find them to be more manageable in light of the larger episode they have experienced. Have a deep sense of satisfaction for having served well and having made a contribution to a mission that maintains and improves the lives of other. Appreciate the friendships forged under trying conditions that reveal a depth of enduring connectedness. Acquire skills that are transferrable to work and other areas of life and are great resources for professional and personal development. Author: Respond 17
Integrated Care Condolence Teams for Missing, Injured or Deceased Standards and Procedures Disaster Cycle Services 2016 The American National Red Cross