Eighteen months ago, as Judy and Ken Miller were planning a trip to visit their daughters in northern California and as wildfires burned across that state, Judy had an idea.  

“I said, ‘Hey, why don’t we stop and help out at some of these fires,” she said. “Let’s volunteer with the Red Cross.”

The Missoula couple contacted the Montana Red Cross, completed their training, learned some new software, and before they knew it, were on their way to Eureka, Calif., to help people driven from their homes by fire.

Ken assisted with feeding operations while Judy, who’s retired after a long career in the medical field, served as a Red Cross nurse – an extremely important position that’s often hard to fill. She tended to clients’ basic medical and first-aid needs and helped clients replace lost prescriptions and items like walkers and eye glasses that were left behind during a hasty evacuation. Red Cross nurses also connect clients with spiritual care and mental health counseling.

Red Cross covers the cost of a volunteer’s deployment, and the Millers decided to drive their RV to Eureka rather than fly.

“We got to meet some wonderful people and travel around northern California on our days off and just loved it,” she said.

“It’s an opportunity to travel, to use your skills to really help out and to serve people.”

From that point on they were hooked.

“Once you get into it, Red Cross hangs on to you pretty tight,” she said.

Ken and Judy continue to serve Red Cross back home in Missoula, helping families impacted by home fires and other disasters. Much of Judy’s work is done virtually as she helps families across Montana and Idaho.

“I simply talk to the person, they tell me what meds they’ve lost, I call the pharmacy and check on the availability of refills, maybe call the doctor and make sure those meds are replaced,” she said.

“It’s just heartwarming to feel like you’re helping someone. It also brings you back to the realization that ‘Oh my gosh, this could be me.’”

Before she retired, Judy worked in hospice care in Missoula, and prior to that, in cancer and pharmaceutical research in Billings. Her Red Cross volunteerism allows her to continue to fill her need to help others.

And while they’ve been staying closer to home lately, come December, Ken and Judy are planning to hit the road again in their RV and maybe help out more folks impacted by disaster along the way.

“Giving here and there feels so good, and you get so much back,” she said. “The clients are wonderful and so grateful. It makes me feel good.”

BARBARA GUMBERT

Much like Judy Miller, the desire to continue helping others post retirement also drew Barbara Gumbert to the Red Cross.

After a 35-year career as an operating room nurse, it didn’t take long for Barbara to begin looking for an opportunity to put her compassion and her talents to good use once again.

“I still had so much to give, and I still cared so much about people that I needed to do something,” she said.

That’s when she discovered the opportunity to volunteer as a Red Cross nurse.

Since signing on five years ago, Barbara, who lives in Kalispell, has deployed three times following major national disasters and has helped out during emergencies in Montana.

Her first deployment took her to Louisiana in 2016 during spring flooding.

“We had tornado warnings and thunderstorm warnings and flood warnings while I was there, but I enjoyed it immensely, taking care of the people who were in the shelter,” she said.

Three years later, while living in Ohio, she helped families in the Dayton area after several tornadoes ripped through the region. Red Cross had shelters open for a month, and because she lived there, she was able to help the entire time.

“That was an absolute joyful blessing that I was able to be there for that long,” she said.

One of the shelters Barbara was working in closed and was combined with another shelter. Barbara remembers walking into that new location, where many of the clients she had been helping previously were now staying.

“I came in carrying my stuff and one of the clients saw me and went ‘Barbara!’ and then they all went ‘Yay, she’s here.’”

“The feeling that gave you … I was almost in tears.”

Barbara said many of the clients she tended to during that deployment had serious medical issues including diabetes and heart problems. She remembers one client who needed daily insulin shots but was unable to do it himself. His daughter had always done it for him but wasn’t with him now.

“He would bring me his insulin and know how much he needed, and I would give him the shot, and he was just as delighted as could be,” she said. “How easy is that to give someone some happiness?”

Barbara says she’s gotten so much in return as a Red Cross nurse helping clients through difficult times and encourages others – especially those who have retired from the medical field – to raise their hand, roll up their sleeves and give it a try. And with extremely active hurricane and wildfire seasons underway, there are plenty of opportunities to help.

“The clients are very warm and very grateful to you just for sitting and talking with them,” she said. “They know they are being cared for, and they know that a person cares. They feel the love there … that it’s not just me doing my job of having to take care of you. It’s because I want to take care of you.”

VOLUNTEER AS A RED CROSS NURSE

Montana Red Cross is seeking health professionals to assist with people’s health needs in disaster shelters. Both associate and supervisory level opportunities are available. If you are an RN, LPN, LVN, APRN, NP, EMT, paramedic, MD/DO or PA with a current and unencumbered license, this position could be right for you.

To learn more, send an email to IDMT.Recruiting@redcross.org or call 406-493-8778.