AMTA- MI MERT Receives International Recognition
The Massage Emergency Response Team (MERT) for AMTA-MI has been very busy lately! This fall they participated in a Mock Deployment disaster drill in Detroit. Some of the participants included Homeland Security, Salvation Army, Macomb and Oakland County Sheriff Departments, Detroit Police and Fire Department and EMS and the American Red Cross. The team performed over 50 massages in 2 days and was invited back to next disaster drill. Many thanks to all the MERT Responders who volunteered for this event. More information on this event can be found in our January 2007 Mihands newsletter.
With that under their belt, the Team was then asked to present to the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation's 9th World Congress on Stress, Trauma and Coping. The date of the presentation is Saturday, February 17, 2007, in Baltimore, Maryland. Julie Finn (MERT Committee Chair) Terry Hirth Caldwell (National Member at Large) and Todd Simmons (Chapter President) will be presenting on how massage can be successfully integrated into disaster events. Congratulations to the MERT Committee! More information on the ICISF can be found at www.icisf.org.