As the war in Israel continues, Heather Berken, a 22-year nursing veteran currently working in the emergency department at the Milwaukee VA, packed her bags for a two-week trip, arriving in Israel to help in any way she could.
Berken has traveled to Israel many times; however, this trip is different. Berken is in Israel during a war, hoping to help those who need it.
The day before her flight, Berken packed two large duffle bags filled with items like tourniquets, gauze, socks, and other necessities for those on the front lines.
“The only thing that has made me be able to close my eyes and sleep is thinking that I can offer some help,” Berken says. She said after seeing what was going on in Israel, a country many of her family and friends call home, she knew she needed to help.
“Packing this stuff up, and I’m just excited to get this to the right people who need it. That makes me feel good,” she says.
Daily Nurse proudly honors Berken as the Nurse of the Week for using her medical skills to assist those in need.
Berken has been training with other healthcare workers from the United States who are part of a group called Emergency Volunteers Project that provides medical assistance where needed.
“People are going out. Life is going on,” Berken explains. “Depending on the area you’re in, kids are going to school or alternating the days kids go to school because they don’t allow groups of 50 to congregate anywhere. People are out, but because so many people have been drafted into the military, I think it’s hard to keep businesses open so it’s not empty. It’s just different. Having been to Israel plenty of times when there wasn’t a war, it has a very different feel.”
A week before leaving, Berken was taking donations and items from people in Wisconsin who wanted to get supplies to Israel.
One woman dropped off bulletproof vests and helmets to give to family members trying to rebuild in dangerous areas of the country.
Berken said she’s found these connections through the power of social media and said being able to help is the best way for her to assist during this crisis.
“It’s been helpful to unite me with a community of people who feel just as passionately and strongly about Israel, even though we don’t live there,” she says.
Berken says she knows this is what she is called to do.
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