Photo By Staff Sgt. Avery Cunningham | VIEQUES, Puerto Rico – David Cruickshank, with Connecticut 1 Disaster Medical...... read more read more
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VIEQUES, Puerto Rico, Nov. 18, 2017 – Hurricane Maria damaged many hospitals on the island and left some without power. Emergency responders worked together to stand up local hospitals so they could support themselves. Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, set up temporary tents while hospitals are under repairs and cleaning.
Members of DMATs from all over the country came together to set up tents so the hospital staffs from Hospital Susana Centeno can provide their regular services. The hospital currently operates an emergency room using DMAT tents, but needed more tents to support other services.
“We want to continue the [hospital] service,” said Betzaida MacKenzie, the hospital administrator. “We had to stop because we didn’t have any place to do the services, and now we’re going to do it here.”
The DMATs set up tents in the parking lot near the hospital so the doctors and nurses could treat people.
“We set up multiple tents to build a mobile field hospital because the one they have is heavily damaged so they’re going to use our temporary hospital for a few weeks until they can get theirs up and operational again," said David Cruickshanks, who took charge to guide everyone through the tent setup.
This is all in the purview of the National Disaster Medical System, which fields DMATs to support local medical services.
“We can step in when a system has been totally knocked out and pick up the pieces to help the infrastructure rebuild,” said Ryan Goodson, the Logistics Section Chief, Logistics Response Assistance Team, USDHHS. “We can support everything that a hospital can do until they can get back on their feet.”
“The tents are used because they’re a rapid deployment tool,” said Goodson. “They will survive the weather to a certain point. They’re easy, maneuverable, collapsible, and we can transport them easily.”
Health and Human Services acts as a part of the medical arm of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA coordinates efforts between agencies, so they work together smoothly, efficiently, and effectively.
“FEMA is the lead emergency agency, and we receive our mission assignments from them,” said Goodson. “FEMA works directly with the Department of Public Health, the governor, and the mayors of each town to assess what is needed in their area.”
The group that went to Vieques included people from the U.S. Public Health Service, and DMAT teams all over the country such as Alaska, California, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Puerto Rico.
“Multiple teams pitched in a couple of people to make this happen and get the mission done and that’s what we’re all about,” said Cruickshanks. “Everybody integrates so well together and gets along because we’re all here for one purpose and that is to do the right thing.”
| Date Taken: | 11.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.19.2017 09:48 |
| Story ID: | 255839 |
| Location: | VIEQUES, PR |
| Web Views: | 1,068 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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