USF College of Public Health student Bradley Keating is a humanitarian for the masses. As a trained firefighter and certified medic, he has been involved in relief efforts in disasters across the globe for the last four years in Haiti, Japan, Israel and the Philippines.

After the typhoon in the Philippines, Bradley, as an undergraduate, was assigned by a United Nations team to hike into the hills to establish contact with the villages that had not been heard from since the disaster.

The needs of the villagers were assessed, their deceased were accounted for, and a medical clinic was set up by Keating and his team, which also identified an outbreak of typhoid in one region and were able to report it and receive necessary supplies.

“In the city of Ormac, population around 250,000, we set up a field hospital and saw hundreds of patients a day, often working 18-hour shifts,” Keating said.

That hospital that Keating was involved in establishing is still up and running today.

“I wanted to pursue a degree,” Keating explained, “which could help me end up in a career where I was able to follow my global health passion full-time. I met with Annette Strzelecki, the undergrad advisor, and was impressed with the BS program.  She has helped me over the last two years plan my coursework and helped me overcome any issues I would run into.”

Keating is a full-time firefighter and a full-time student. Although he faced difficulties in completing assignments and finding time to study, he was able to overcome those obstacles with the compassion and support of his wife.

Since graduating this spring, he began working this fall on the online MPH in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Relief in the Department of Global Health.

Keating hopes to one day work in global health in the developing world for an agency such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control or the Gates Foundation.

“I would like to travel and establish programs in these developing areas to better the population’s overall health,” he said.

assisting on the ground in Haiti,

 

Story by Infiniti Mincey, USF College of Public Health.  Photos courtesy of Bradley Keating.