Page 35 - BusinessWest July 7, 2025

DesLauriers >>Continued from page 34
climate leaves funding the Federal
Emergency Management Agency in
limbo, there are certainly opportuni-
ties at the state level, said DesLauriers,
noting that the Massachusetts Emer-
gency Management Agency handles
many different types of emergencies,
from power outages to weather-related
disasters. And he would like to bring a
nurse’s perspective to the response to
such calamities.
“I would like to bridge my nursing
experience on the front lines back into
my life,” he told BusinessWest, “and I
would love to assist with emergency
management and be on the front
lines of disaster response, and handle
emergency management from the
perspective of a nurse.
“We have a lot of current emer-
gency managers — firefighters, police
officers, the National Guard, and
professionals with a long career in
emergency management,” he went on.
“But not a lot of nurses, from what I
can see.”
And Massachusetts — which is
where he would prefer to stay for
now — is vulnerable to many types of
disasters, DesLauriers said, includ-
ing flooding, tornadoes (as residents
of this region certainly know, having
lived through one in 2011), hurri-
canes, brushfires, a global pandemic,
and what he calls infrastructure-relat-
ed issues.
Elaborating, he said the state’s infra-
structure, including bridges, dams, sea-
walls, and more, is aging and, in many
cases, in dangerously poor condition.
He knows this because he completed
his capstone project for his degree at
MMA on such facilities in this region
— including the Goodnough Dike and
Winsor Dam at the Quabbin Reservoir,
the Hadley Falls Dam, the Memorial
Bridge, and others — and the conse-
quences in the event of failure.
“They’re aged beyond what would be
considered reasonable,” he told Busi-
nessWest. “The bridge that collapsed
when the barge struck it [in Maryland]
was built in 1970; we have bridges
and infrastructure that’s from the early
1900s.
“For the capstone project, I was
looking at the catastrophic loss and
what could happen if — and it’s not if;
it’s more like when — these structures
do fail, and what options would exist to
manage that,” he went on. “The options
that were given include doing noth-
ing, which is not a feasible option, and
spending the money to repair them or
replace them.
“If you walk the Memorial Bridge
today, you can see through parts of it,”
he continued, noting that the bridge
was essentially reconstructed in the
mid-’90s, but has greatly deteriorated
since. Meanwhile, the bridges over the
Cape Cod Canal, built in the 1930s, are
in an equally disturbing, and danger-
ous, state.
If there is a disaster involving any
of these structures, or one of several
possible weather calamities, the state
DesLauriers
Continued on page 36 >>
THANK YOU
TO ALL OUR
NURSES!
HMC
NURSES ARE
APPRECIATED!
You take care of patients.
We take care of you.
Holyoke Medical Center demonstrates its appreciation
of nurses in many ways. We have higher rates for
experienced nurses (up to $5 more per hour). We
also have the HIGHEST ancillary staffing in the Valley,
quality incentive bonus payments for nurses, self-
scheduling, 24/7 mentorship team support via
text, and the HIGHEST tuition reimbursement in the
Valley. HMC PROVIDES CARE FOR OUR NURSES —
free fitness center, relaxation rooms, massage chairs on
every unit, recognition, & more!
Nursing is better at HMC.
HolyokeHealth.com/Nurses
Business W est
MONTHLY FEATURE 35
JULY 7, 2025