Proud to Follow in My Dad’s Footsteps 

September 27, 2023 | By Scott Kress, RN, New York 2 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) 

I was one of those little boys who always said, “when I grow up, I want to be like my dad”. From a young age, I wanted to do everything my father did, whether it was hammering nails, fighting fires, or being a member of the National Disaster Medical System’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), I wanted to do it all. Luckily, my childhood dreams came true.  

My father, Steve Kress, joined DMAT in 1997 as logistical personnel for the New York 2 team. I have distinct memories of pestering him with questions about his weekly training. I remember being on cloud nine whenever I was lucky enough to tag along when he would have to go to the team’s warehouse. I remember asking for details about how the tents are set up and what he did during the training sessions. I was like a sponge soaking up his knowledge. 

While growing up, it was customary for my dad, a volunteer firefighter, to run out the door every time his fire pager went off. We would get a hug and kiss, and out the door he went. Then came September 11, 2001. Soon after the planes hit, my dad left his day job as a surgical technologist and went to Ground Zero. DMAT NY-2 would be deployed to Ground Zero for months to provide medical assistance to 9/11 survivors and responders. One day, my mother told my brother and I that we would visit my father at Ground Zero. After that visit, I knew  I would join my father on DMAT NY-2 one day. 

Life would move on, and more deployments would come, which grew my desire to join DMAT even more. I graduated from nursing school in 2014, and after a couple of years of emergency department nursing, I applied to DMAT. Four years ago, almost 18 years after I visited my father at Ground Zero, I became a member of DMAT NY-2. 

My first two deployments were COVID-19 related. I deployed to Gallup, New Mexico, to provide surge support at a hospital pushed to the limits by COVID-19 and later to Oakland, California, to assist with  opening and operating the nation’s first mass vaccination site. My most recent deployment was to Perry, Florida, to support a rural hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia. I’m honored each time I’m asked to serve with DMAT, but my most special deployments are when my father and I deploy together. Being able to help others with your childhood idol at your side ​is   hard to put into words. 

Now as a father of two, my dream is for my kids to say, “when I grow up, I want to be like you dad”.