Photo courtesy of NWS Hurricane Center/Twitter
As Hurricane Dorian threatens to make landfall this week, Mississippi is sending help.
Mississippi Region American Red Cross workers are supporting areas in the path of the category 3 storm. Team members are now in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Today, five Red Cross teams of two will drive the region’s emergency response vehicles to a staging area in Montgomery before being assigned to transport disaster relief items.
Meanwhile, the remaining Mississippi Red Cross disaster workers are in preparation mode. They are prepositioning shelter supply trailers with resources to open shelters where needed to provide a safe place for families of the current and future disaster responses.
How You Can Help:
- Give a Financial Gift: Help people affected by Hurricane Dorian.
- Visit redcross.org/donate
- Call 1- 800-RED CROSS
- Text DORIAN to 90999
2. Volunteer: Donate your time and be a hero, volunteer today. Sign up at redcross.org/volunteer.
3. Donate Blood: Schedule your appointment today. www.redcrossblood.org/give
AMR has also responded to FEMA’s request for EMS deployments to assist with the preparation and recovery efforts.
AMR’s Mississippi operations are responding to the federal government’s request for deploying emergency medical resources for Hurricane Dorian. As the nation’s largest provider of medical transportation and FEMA’s prime contractor for such services, AMR is prepared for these emergencies and are ready to respond.
Seven emergency medical personnel from AMR operations in Mississippi are deployed. AMR Central Mississippi, based in Jackson, has sent a paramedic, two emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and an ambulance mechanic; AMR South Mississippi, based in Gulfport, has sent an EMT and MedStat EMS, an AMR company based in Winona, has sent a paramedic and an EMT.
“As part of the Global Medical Response family of companies, our national scope allows us to secure whatever is needed, including appropriate personnel, vehicles, aircraft, logistics and supplies to respond quickly,” said Ted Van Horne, chief operating officer of Global Medical Response. “We are committed to helping support these communities and the patients who are in the path of the hurricane while continuing to provide timely medical response in all the other communities we serve.”
As FEMA’s prime emergency medical service response provider, AMR has a national agreement with FEMA to provide ground ambulance, air ambulance, paratransit services and non-ambulance EMS personnel to supplement the federal and military response to a disaster, an act of terrorism or any other public health emergency.
AMR anticipates its personnel will be activated for seven to 14 days, but that can change as the situation evolves. The crews will work in the areas which the hurricane impacts as long as they are needed. When the crews arrive at their assigned area, they will be working under the guidance of FEMA, state and local EMS agencies.
