A Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant employee, who recently deployed to Florida after Hurricane Michael, attributes her success there to workplace training.

“The leadership training I received at PCAPP was immensely helpful,” said Jackie Fitch, a physician assistant who works in the plant’s medical facility. “It enabled me to become a more effective leader and to better accomplish our mission.”

Fitch served as deputy team commander for one of two Disaster Medical Assistance Teams from Colorado, Oct. 11 through Oct. 23. The teams are part of the National Disaster Medical System and operate under the Department of Health and Human Services.

She, along with members of her team, set up a mobile hospital, consisting of tents placed outside of a hurricane-damaged hospital in order to reduce flow and to provide medical care.

The physician assistant said a team of 35 medical professionals treated more than 460 individuals injured by the hurricane. They provided care until the area hospital’s emergency department had enough staff, water, electricity and supplies to return to regular duties.

“Without the training I received at PCAPP, I probably would not have been as competent and may have floundered in my assignment,” Fitch said. “I was more empathetic and able to see how disasters can so personally affect people.”

Fitch said she is grateful to coworkers and her employer whose support enabled her to provide the residents of Florida with disaster relief.