Mobile field hospital seeks volunteers
A new mobile field hospital has been unveiled for use in the Philadelphia region. WHYY’s Tom MacDonald reports now there is a need for volunteer medical personnel to staff it in times of crisis.
A new mobile field hospital has been unveiled for use in the Philadelphia region. WHYY’s Tom MacDonald reports now there is a need for volunteer medical personnel to staff it in times of crisis.
Listen:
[audio:sci20090210mobilehosp.mp3]
Transcript:
Dr. Edward Jasper of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Center for Bioterrorism and Disaster Preparedness says the field hospital has been put together to aid conventional hospitals in times of crisis. But Dr. Jasper says they need volunteers to run the facility.
Jasper: There are DMATs, Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, there’s one out in Pittsburgh, we just don’t have one in our area. So as we’ve had the capability – that’s funding and the ability to purchase all this equipment – we’ve started to expand. So we started this process three years ago and it was a matter of get the funding, get the plans together.
Dr. Jasper the facility is designed to supplement traditional hospital intensive care beds in a time of crisis. This sort of capacity is happening around the country as the Department of Homeland Security provides funding. He says now they’re seeking and training volunteer medical professionals willing to pitch in.
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