News - 01 Nov 2006

Remote Medical International staff return from New Orleans & Lake Charles, LA.

Remote Medical International instructors and CEO participated in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as Paramedics and Nurses with FEMA, working at the Superdome and New Orleans Airport field hospitals and coordinating air evacuations.

As members of the WA-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (WA-1 DMAT) and OR-2 DMAT, Debi Solberg, Andrew Cull, Melina Moran, Rich Chatman, and Steve Costello worked with other DMATs to set up the triage and critical care system in the New Orleans Airport. Following the Katrina operaiton, staff members were moved to a shelter for Hurricane Rita, then providing initial response to Lake Charles, LA.

"We saw literally thousands of patients, in an event that is unlikely to be repeated in scale," said CEO/Remote Site Paramedic, Andrew Cull, "the New Orleans Airport operations was the largest military medical evacuation in world history as I understand, and being part of it was a unique experience to say the least."

Members of the DMATs at the New Orleans Airport triaged and treated thousands of patients evacuated from hospitals, rooftops, the SuperDome, and the Overpass.

"It is something we will remember for a long, long time," said Rich Chatman, Paramedic/Instrutor.