| The RI Medical Reserve Corp (RIMRC) was fully deployed recently for two weekends at the Newport Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival. Between 40 and 50 MRC volunteers ran a complete 20 bed field hospital operation, behavioral health unit, command center, commissary, along with 4 mobile medical teams in the field, positioned strategically around the festival grounds at Fort Adams. All operations were run by RI MRC Executive Director Brooke Lawrence and MRC member and well known RI EMS professional Harry Larson.
On this particular day, the RIAFC was given an extensive tour of the large scale deployment. In the fully operational 12 bed emergency room, located in the field hospital's main trailer, an extensive morning briefing was conducted for team members on the days operations and protocols. Immediately following, all members were off to their pre-determined assigned locations. Tasked with multiple types of assignments, the MRC was now fully operational.
Our tour took us completely around and through the fort, stopping to meet team members along the way. Manning the two bed medical/behavioral health station inside the walls of the fort, was a team operating near one of the three main stages. Moving around the perimeter of the fort, we passed the three other medical teams at strategic locations, based on the massive crowds around the other two main stages.
This group of dedicated people keep an amazing amount of equipment organized. They manage two very large tractor trailers that open up for the field hospital, three large trailers that make up their forward base of operations and staff support, a behavioral health trailer, and multiples of other hauler trucks, vans, pickups, .......and that’s just vehicles and trailers! What about the gators and Polaris vehicles, generators, commissary unit, multiple pop up tents and much more. Most importantly, let's not forget all of the amazing medical equipment and resources that are too extensive to list.
But as Director Brooke Lawrence said at the morning briefing to his team, “It’s all just a bunch of equipment without the dedicated hard working people who make it all come together." As the RI Medical Reserve Corp, they certainly do come together to serve the public in a most professional way. |
