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Over the years, Rockland County has seen its share of volunteers and leaders who step up to make an impact on our communities. The common trend that we see in our leaders is the personal story that inspires them to step up and take action. Jacqueline Cassagnol, founder of Worldwide Community First Responder Inc, has taken inspiration from her personal story, built an organization and made an impact on many families in Rockland. This is Jackie’s story.
Jackie remembers it just like it was yesterday. She was in Israel when the 2010 earthquake in Haiti happened. She turned on the TV and there it was – “the worst thing she’d ever seen.”

Jackie Cassagnol’s life changed when Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake in 2010.
Cassagnol, a longtime registered nurse currently working as a professor at Dominican College, was training Haitian civilians in first aid and emergency response following the killer quake and one young man told her, “If we knew this then, we could have saved so many lives.”
The words hit Cassagnol both in her heart and head and she realized that lack of knowledge of first aid was costing thousands of lives all over the world. Cassagnol came up with a philosophy; that every man and woman is potentially their own best first responder in an emergency.

With most of her family practicing in the medical field, Spring Valley resident Jackie Cassagnol always envisioned herself in the industry. It was one person, however, who ultimately influenced her decision to become a nurse. Starting as a medical-surgical nurse, her aunt Joyce came home from the hospital each night with a thrilling story, or two, to share. She worked her way through the ranks over the course of 30 years, eventually becoming the head of the hospital’s clinics. Seeing the difference her aunt made in patients’ lives, Jackie set her sights on a career in nursing, not knowing how just many lives she would one day touch.

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — For the second time in six years, Spring Valley’s Jackie Cassagnol traveled to witness firsthand devastation in Haiti. She came away more heartbroken from the pain of a recent hurricane than she did in 2010, when an earthquake ravaged the island.

“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen,’’ said Cassagnol, who started Worldwide Community First Responder (WCFR) in the wake of the earthquake six years ago. “I went to areas that were never visited since the hurricane. There are places that before the hurricane, there were houses. Now it’s just land. It’s rubble. There was still flooding, even a month after the hurricane. It was unbelievable.”

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — Jackie Cassagnol traveled to Haiti shortly after a massive earthquake devastated the small country in South America in 2010. She returned to Spring Valley a changed woman with big ideas.
Cassagnol, a registered nurse and professor at Dominican College, started Wordwide Community First Responder in wake of the earthquakes, which killed more than 100,000 people. Cassagnol’s parents are natives of Haiti and family members live there.
In 2011, Cassagnol started WCFR, a non-profit all-vounteer organization, to prevent deaths worldwide through education and training. Her trip to Haiti illustrated the need for teaching people everywhere.

For as long as she can remember, Jacqueline “Jackie” Cassagnol wanted to be a nurse. Her Aunt Joyce, who has been practicing nursing for more than 30 years, is likely the one to thank. Starting as a medical-surgical nurse and later becoming the head of her hospital’s clinics, Aunt Joyce always had stories to share of an exciting day in the hospital. Both Cassagnol and her brother pursued professions in the medical field. While he became an obstetrician and gynecologist, she became a nurse. Little did Aunt Joyce know how much of an inspiration she had become!
A young girl’s dream has since matured into a dynamic woman’s mission.

CLARKSTOWN, N.Y. — Jacqueline Cassagnol, founder and president of Worldwide Community First Responder (WCFR), Inc., is one of Daily Voice’s community advisors for its Clarkstown site. Community advisors provide Daily Voice with tips for local news and events.
She is a registered nurse with her Master’s Degree in Nursing Education, and Post Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration. As a result of Cassagnol’s experience in preparing for and assisting with victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she founded WCFR to provide health education, first aid, and disaster-preparedness training.
She has presented locally, nationally and internationally

In a year when an Ebola outbreak in West Africa demonstrated the vulnerability of our public health system, as well as the selfless dedication of health care professionals, Jacqueline Cassagnol’s growing notoriety is just what the doctor ordered. In October, Cassagnol RN, MSN, PMC, was named one of Rockland’s “Forty under 40” by the Rockland Economic Development Corporation for her outstanding contributions in the medical field. A resident of Spring Valley and nursing professor at Dominican College, Cassagnol, is also the founder and President of Nanuet-based Worldwide Community First Responder, Inc.

One of the “rising stars” of Rockland being honoredby the Rockland Economic Development Corporation at tonight’s 13th annual Forty under 40 Reception is Jackie Cassagnol, RN, MSN, PMC, a nursing professor at Dominican College.
The Spring Valley resident is also the founder and President of Nanuet-based Worldwide Community First Responder, Inc.
She is also a founding member and immediate past vice president of the Greater Nanuet Chamber of Commerce.
Through Worldwide Community First Responder, Inc., she provides health education, first aid, and disaster preparedness training. She has organized numerous health-related activities.

“Someone said to me during a training session that
‘If we knew what you are teaching us right now, fewer people would have died during the earthquake.’
I just broke down. I had never broken down and cried before during a class,” said Jackie Cassagnol, a nursing professor. This Rockland resident was giving a training session in Haiti last year in August when one of the adult students told her this.
Although Jackie Cassagnol has lived in Rockland for 17 years, her passion is international. After being affected by the Haiti Earthquake of 2010, a fire awakened inside her and eventually led her to create WCFR, Worldwide Community First Responder.