Photo By Staff Sgt. Christina Westover | San Juan, Puerto Rico – A member from the Florida 2 Disaster Medical Assistance Team...... read more read more
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As the sun beat down through the humid air and onto the docks of San Juan harbor, members of the Florida 2 Disaster Medical Assistance team worked through the tropical heat to establish a base of operation in the shadow of the USNS Comfort hospital ship, Oct. 26, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Within a few hours, the highly trained team of medical professionals established a mobile support hospital with trauma and chronic care capabilities.
The DMAT team members are part of the National Disaster Medical System that falls under Health and Human Services. The NDMS provides the framework for management of public health and medical response during an emergency or disaster.
The staff members on the DMAT teams include doctors, paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, registered nurses, and other medical personnel to screen, triage, and treat patients in a post-disaster environment. Additionally, the staff also can provide pharmaceutical and behavioral health services.
“We have Department of Defense, Navy, DMAT teams, and civilians working together,” said Terri Schmidt, the chief medical officer for the Incident Response Coordination Team. “All of us are here for one purpose, to help the people.”
This commitment can be seen through the volunteer status of this organization. These civilians readily offered to deploy, leaving behind their families and everyday life, to work in conjunction with the staff of the USNS Comfort in alleviating pressure on the local hospitals.
Due to structural damage at local hospitals and a weakened power grid, some facilities are unable to provide the level of medical attention that they were able to before the hurricane.
“We are very fortunate to have the ability and equipment to come here and help,” said Schmidt. “We’re trying to reach as many people as we can and help the community get back to where they were before the storm.”
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.28.2017 13:19 |
| Story ID: | 253364 |
| Location: | SAN JUAN, PR |
| Web Views: | 1,030 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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