06/04/2020
Congratulations Sue, we are so proud of you!!
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Meet Illinois' Volunteer of the Week, Susan Whitfield.
Susan Whitfield has been a non-medical volunteer of the McHenry County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) since 2006. She found out about the MRC after researching a masters degree paper on pandemic preparedness that was published in 2007, and was used internationally for preparation for the 2009 H1N1 Influenza pandemic. With the MRC, she answered phone lines, and did entry paperwork for a Point of Dispensing (POD) when a vaccine became available. She also volunteered for the phone lines during a whooping cough outbreak. She appreciates the training through the MRC that she has received for CPR, AED, Disaster Mental First Aid, Stop the Bleed, Bloodborne Pathogens, and PPE and hopes to never use it as a member of the security team at her large church. She also serves as an Emergency Operations Center volunteer at the McHenry County Emergency Management Agency.
Early in the crisis, Susan realized that masks of all sorts would be in short supply. She also knew that one of the best ways to combat stress and anxiety is to engage in physical activity. She started a private Facebook Group to catalog mask making patterns and she initially sewed about 80 masks for the medical and healthcare community. These were donated to donors at a blood drive at her church, a home healthcare agency, and the Superhero patterns went to a hospital. But when the statewide mask protocol was announced for the general public, she realized that a mask had to be developed that was simpler and faster to produce. She dove into a large stash of tie-dyed t-shirts to produce the “Woodstock” pattern, named for her town and a nod to the everlasting style, and put up signs for the free masks outside her house. Members of the community and a screen printer donated more t-shirts to be recycled, and to date, over 850 masks have been made and distributed. “In the midst of the crisis, I realized how I had already been blessed with time, skill, and material to help meet the needs of other people. Seeing the people drive up and select masks - this has been more fun than Trick or Treat!”, said Whitfield.
Learn more at www.Serve.Illinois.gov.
Governor JB Pritzker
Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)
Illinois Emergency Management Agency
Medical Reserve Corps
McHenry County Department of Health
