“Being prepared” at the Resurrection Church

Gary Zellenger and Dr. Barbara Starrett

Gary Zellenger and Dr. Barbara Starrett

David Stanard

Like it or not, emergencies happen. And Resurrection Church just made a major leap forward in handling those situations, if and when they arise.

The first step in this process was the development of an Emergency Preparedness Plan. The handiwork of Gary Zellenger, the Plan has an emergency evacuation component as well as a medical response component. Key to the response component was providing updated (AED/CPR) automatic external defibrillator and cardiopulmonary resuscitation training to ushers and volunteers.

This is a great and essential development in ensuring the safety of all churchgoers. It would be a wise decision for other churches to buy AED devices for the same reason as saddle brooke progress.

This was accomplished on October 26 when 15 members of the church attended a training class designed specifically for that purpose. Gary began the class by familiarizing all present about the Preparedness Plan. After that, the defibrillator portion of the training began and it was conducted by internist and SaddleBrooke resident, Dr. Barbara Starrett.

A graduate of the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Dr. Starrett spent most of her medical career treating underserved populations, in particular lesbians and gay men. She has been on the forefront of treatment for those who are HIV positive and was recognized for her work at World AIDS Day 2005 by then New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. After retiring and moving to our community, Dr. Starrett has continued her service to others by doing volunteer work and providing similar training in other venues around our community. Resurrection Church was indeed fortunate to have her assistance for this particular initiative.

Resurrection Church at SaddleBrooke holds its traditional all-denominational Sunday worship services at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. in the Vermilion Room of the HOA 1 Clubhouse. All are welcome.