Medical Supplies Transported For Tornado Relief
As relief supplies continue to pour into Joplin, MO, in
response to the devastating tornado that struck a week ago, a
special delivery arrived courtesy of the Missouri Wing of Civil Air
Patrol, the U.S. Air Force auxiliary. At the request of the
Missouri-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team, 200 doses of urgently
needed tetanus vaccine were transported from St. Louis to
Joplin.
The vaccine, donated by Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis,
required expedited delivery due to its limited shelf life. Capts.
Pete Pilcher and Gil Franck, both of the Gateway Senior Squadron,
flew the four-hour roundtrip mission from Spirit of St. Louis
Airport in Chesterfield. The special delivery arrived Saturday, May
28, and was immediately delivered to a field hospital established
by MO-1 DMAT. “Working cooperatively with our community
partners, we were able to provide valuable assistance to our fellow
Missourians during this difficult time,” said Lt. Col. David
Miller, Missouri Wing’s public affairs officer. A physician
in private practice, Miller knows the value such “mercy
flights” have during emergencies. “The transport of
needed blood, tissue and medicine is another high-priority mission
CAP is often called upon to perform – and performs
exceptionally well.”
Both Pilcher and Franck have been members of Civil Air Patrol
for several years and have worked as pilots in the private sector.
“With this being a holiday weekend, it’s wonderful to
have volunteers who will take time to help others in need,”
noted Lt. Col. Carolyn Rice, mission incident commander and Gateway
Senior Squadron commander. "We're very grateful for the rapid
delivery of our vaccines by the CAP flight today," said Austin
Worcester, executive officer and administrative section chief of
MO-1 DMAT. "The hospital staff can't express its appreciation
enough for all of the help it is receiving."
MO-1 DMAT serves Missouri residents at the direction of the
governor. During disasters the team provides medical care in
cooperation with the State of Missouri Emergency Management Agency
and the State of Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The team is equipped to respond to a disaster location and to
deploy a mobile emergency room and field hospital with capabilities
approaching a hospital setting. Operating out of tents or available
local structures, the team provides state-of-the-art equipment and
a broad spectrum of medical care.
Less than one week after St. John’s Regional Medical
Center was destroyed in Joplin by the tornado, MO-1 DMAT
established a field hospital adjacent to the ruined medical center
with the assistance of the Missouri National Guard, Mercy staff,
contractors, laborers of all trades and a variety of state and
local agencies. Now known as St. John’s Mercy Field Hospital,
it is providing emergency room services to ensure medical care is
restored to the residents of Joplin.
Civil Air Patrol has been performing missions for America for
over 69 years. The Missouri Wing is composed of more than 1,000
members organized in over 40 units located throughout the state.
Formal disaster relief and search and rescue training exercises are
held on a regular basis several times each year.