Lester Julian McRae completed a 48-hour internship with the American Red Cross updating their healthcare facility contact list and requesting donations of durable medical equipment. Tasks included calling 12 counties in North Jersey to update facility information and request donations, as well as sending welcome letters. The main challenge was that most facilities did not have equipment to donate. Supervisor Michael Prasad met with Lester weekly and advised on contacting administrators and first aid councils.

1. Briefing Memorandum
To: Anita Franzione, Internship Coordinator
From: Lester Julian McRae, Intern, The American Red Cross – North Jersey Region
Subject: Summary of Internship Activities from February 6, 2015 to February 26, 2015
Date: February 27, 2015
Summary:
This memo summarizes the internship activities from February 6, 2015 to February 26, 2015 for Lester
Julian McRae, who requests durable medical equipment donations from hospitals, assisted living
facilities, and nursing homes. Lester Julian McRae updates the healthcare organization contact list with
each facility throughout the 12 counties in North Jersey and sends welcome letters to healthcare
administrators. In total, Lester Julian McRae has spent 48 hours completing these tasks. He devoted 12
hours updating the healthcare organization, 6 hours sending welcome letters, and 30 hours requesting
durable medical equipment donations.
Major Work Tasks & Accomplishments:
The major task during this period was calling each healthcare facility in the 12 counties in North Jersey
and requesting durable medical equipment. Another task included updating the healthcare facility list
with the status, address, and contact information of each healthcare organization in North Jersey.
Another goal of the internship is to contact and form a partnership with the First Aid Council.
Supervision & Staff Interaction:
Michael Prasad, intern supervisor, interacts with Lester once a week for an hour, but is easily accessible
by phone and email. Lester emails Michael a few times a week with the current status of the healthcare
facility list. Lester asks Michael for advice on whom to contact within each organization. Michael
advised Lester to contact administrators in assisted living facilities/nursing homes and to contact
community outreach in hospitals. Lester has not been successful with receiving durable medical
equipment from these facilities so far. Most administrators have explained to Lester that they do not
donate any equipment. Other administrators have said that they donate equipment periodically but do
not have any equipment at the moment. Michael has also advised Lester to contact the first aid council.
Lester has contacted two of the Executive Vice Presidents and is awaiting a response.
Relevance to Public Health Theory:
Primary durable medical equipment includes wheelchairs, crutches, 4-prong canes, and shower chairs.
Secondary durable medical equipment includes privacy screens, independent toilet seats, hoyer lifts,
and refrigerators. During a disaster, many people have no choice but to leave home and stay in a
shelter. The American Red Cross has the responsibility of supplying these shelters with the necessary
medical equipment to accommodate a large amount of people until federal assistance is needed. The
American Red Cross has plans in place to acquire the necessary equipment, store the equipment with
the rest of the inventory, and distribute the equipment to shelters in North Jersey.
Major Successes & Challenges:
This work period was successful because the healthcare facility list was updated with important
information for each facility. A major challenge for Lester is finding the healthcare facilities that donate
usable equipment and currently have equipment that administrators want to donate. However, there is
still over 100 facilities left to contact.