How Campuses Play an Integral Part in Welcoming Refugees

Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees have resettled across the U.S. over the past year or so, and many American hospitals, institutions of higher education, and other organizations were tasked with providing medical care, housing, and other services to many of the Afghans fleeing their country.Since then, millions of Ukrainian refugees have been forced to flee their homeland due to the Russian invasion of their nation, and about 100,000 Ukrainian refugees will soon be coming to America. Once again, many U.S. campuses will be stepping up to care for these refugees.In light of this development, I reached out to Virtua Health AVP of Environmental Services, Security, and Safety Paul Sarnese so he could tell us about Virtua’s Mount Holly facility’s experience last year in helping more than 1,000 refugees from Afghanistan.In my interview with Sarnese, who is also one of this year’s Campus Safety Director of the Year finalists, he describes what was all involved in helping Virtua Health’s guests from Afghanistan.Although each group of refugees coming to the U.S. has their own unique set of circumstances, there are some promising practices covered by Sarnese that most likely apply to organizations assisting any refugee population.In my interview, Sarnese specifically addresses the following:·       His department’s role. 4:14·       What was all involved in this process. 6:35·       Some of the biggest challenges faced during this process, as well as successes. 9:00·       Considering our nation will soon be welcoming thousands of refugees from Ukraine, advice for other healthcare security professionals tasked with assisting them. 11:22CAMPUS SAFETY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedInYouTubeCAMPUS SAFETY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Facebook: https://facebook.com/CampusSafetyMagazineX: https://x.com/CampusSafetyMagInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/CampusSafetyMagLinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1836305YouTube: @Campussafetymagazine