Mock disaster meeting May 10

The Madison County Medical Providers Coalition will hold a volunteer recruiting meeting between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at the Madison County Health Department, 806 W. College Ave. in Fredericktown.

Staging coordinators will be available with their volunteer job descriptions (you’ll  get to find out what your role will be at this meeting).

It should be said that volunteers will be asked (but not required) to make a commitment to the “Madison County Medical Surge Exercise.” The exercise will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 on the grounds of  Madison Medical Center. An alternate date of June 1st is also planned if severe weather cancels the May 18th exercise.

If for some reason, you can not participate the day of the event, there will not be any animosity or objections.  Please come to the volunteer meeting with a volunteer form filled out to register, learn and have some fun. Call 783-2747 for a form. You can also register as a volunteer and not participate in this exercise.

This event is to assist the medical community in helping each of us, the citizens of Fredericktown and Madison County, in the event we experience a disaster that has overwhelming injuries in our county.

Support roles include:

Clerical support.

Clergy and Mental Health Counselors.

Retired medical personnel: Physicians and Nurses of all licensure.

Agencies that have medical personnel on staff.

Individuals with experience in crowd control and traffic control such as teachers, coaches; including retired teachers.

Volunteers also are needed to be “disaster victims.”

Spanish speaking volunteers are also going to be available.

This event will be recorded by Beyer Enterprises. A reporter from the Democrat News will also be on-hand taking photographs for publication.

“Patients” will be escorted to their color coded treatment areas. No one will be carried on stretchers or backboards in order to prevent real injuries.

Bottled water and restrooms will be available.

Parking may be available at the Armory and the old IGA parking lot. SMTS  has agreed to provide shuttle service from the IGA parking lot to the health department.

Access to hospital emergency services will not be blocked.  Ambulance calls will continue to run normally. Both police and fire  departments are working with the coalition to provide safety and security, as well as, providing emergency services as needed.

An “after event” meeting is being planned with details to come at a later date.

Every attempt will be made to reduce risks to volunteers, however, participants will be asked to sign a release waiver form for this event.

Bring a lawn chair for yourself.