by RALPH KISIEL Blade Staff Writer
The Toledo Blade, 1989
Most of them are "virgin overnighters." That's how
Kelly Burkholder-AIlen described 80 employees from four Toledo
hospitals participating in a medical disaster drill this week-end
at the air national guard base at Toledo Express Airport. They
set up huge tents yesterday, tore them down. then started all
over again.
As assistant head nurse in St. Vincent Medical Center's emergency
room, Ms. Burkholder-Allen has faced all kinds of medical emergencies.
But erecting a canvas shelter and treating patients outdoors are
not part of her normal routine. "I have very little experience
in the field, that's why I'm here," she said. And in the
field they were, a grassy one near noisy national guard jets and
helicopters.
"Are there any snakes out here?" one hospital volunteer asked. "They aren't very big," a guards-man replied with a smile. "But mosquitoes are a problem," another guardsman warned.
The hospital employees are members of a Disaster Medical Assistant
Team, one of 75 teams that make up the National Disaster Medical
System. The Toledo team is unique in that it is the only civilian
team in the system. The rest are sponsored by veterans' hospitals
or U.S. military reserve units In addition to St. Vincent's participants.
there are personnel from Medical College, Toledo. and St. Charles
hospitals.
It is not a military hospital, like that depicted on the TV show M.A.S.H. Paul Johnson, MCO di-rector of campus police, said. The team is made up of physicians, nurses, paramedics, EMT's, and nonmedical personnel such as clerks. In an actual national disaster. he said. teams are activated and must be prepared to fly to a disaster site. For example, a team from Albuquerque, N.M., was flown into St. Croix by military transport last year when Hurricane Hugo struck the U.S. Virgin Islands. They were relieved a week later by teams from Rockville and Bethesda, Md.
While the Albuquerque team performed its medical duties well,
it struggled with setting up a medical-care area, Mr. Johnson
said. "They didn't know how to put up the tents," he
said. "That's one reason we're out here today."
The Toledo team members also learned about "field sanitation,"
which is a nice way of saying they were taught how and where to
dig latrines. The local team must be ready to leave at a moment's
notice, and each of the participating hospitals has agreed to
allow its employees to go if the team is activated. Mr. Johnson
said. "Some are in it for the adventure," he said.
"But most of them feel a need to help. Hospital employees
tend to be a little more altruistic."
Ms. Burkholder-Allen said that she joined the team after a friend
told her about his emergency work during the Mexico City earthquake
in 1985. "But the best part is the hospitals working together,"
she said.
Connie Lord, a St. Charles emergency center supervisor, said she was attracted by the excitement and challenge that a disaster team would face. "The thought of going into a devastated area and helping is exciting," Ms. Lord said.