FOR RELEASE MARCH 28, 2018
MAG MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS CONDUCTS TRAINING EXERCISE IN COFFEE COUNTY
DOUGLAS – More than 30 members of the Medical Association of Georgia Medical Reserve Corps (MAG MRC) joined some 50 local stakeholders – including first responders and medical students – in an emergency training exercise that took place at the Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas on Saturday, March 24.
“The training scenario simulated an EF3 tornado, and our objectives included transporting and caring for wounded patients during an aeromedical evacuation and deploying a mobile surgical hospital,” said MAG MRC Medical Director John S. Harvey, M.D., who is a general and trauma surgeon. “A number of the participants also completed hemorrhage control training as part of ‘Stop the Bleed’ campaign, which means that they will be equipped to help during a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives – keeping in mind that a person can die from blood loss within five minutes.”
MAG MRC Regional Coordinating Physician and Douglas orthopedic surgeon Jim Barber, M.D., deemed the exercise a “huge” success. He said, “I am so proud of the excellent health care preparedness efforts at Coffee Regional Medical Center.”
He added, “The reality is that we will have to contend with a disaster at some point, so our goal is to ensure that we are properly coordinated, trained and equipped to respond at the state and local levels.”
With the approval of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Medical Association of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Public Health developed the MAG MRC – the nation’s first medical society-sponsored statewide volunteer MRC – in 2015. The MAG MRC is prepared to respond to declared emergencies in Georgia, including natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, blizzards, floods) and disease outbreaks. The MAG MRC supplements the official medical and public health and emergency services resources in the state. MAG MRC volunteers include both physicians and non-physicians.
Go to www.mag.org/mrc for additional information on the MAG MRC or if you are interested in joining the MAG MRC. ###
