Air Show Spectators Are In Good Hands

The 2012 Rhode Island Air National Guard Air Show is this weekend at Quonset Point, and the Rhode Island Medical Reserve Corps and Rhode Island Disaster Medical Assistance Team (RI MRC/RI DMAT) units will be dedicating their expansive medical cache of equipment, volunteer time and medical support for the 21st consecutive year to ensure that Air Show spectators receive the best in quality care if needed.

Volunteers from various fields ranging from nurses, doctors and EMTs to carpenters and plumbers will spend the Air Show weekend working at a full-service field hospital on the base to care for spectators and participants. The hospital also serves as a training opportunity for volunteers to prepare for a public health or disaster situation.

"We train people for real situations, not just simulated ones," said Team Leader Tom Lawrence. "Our medical volunteers are here not just to be doctors and not just to be nurses, but to do these jobs in an unusual setting."

The hospital, located behind the base's fire station at the end of the flight strip, is housed in a multi-room tent manufactured by Eide Industries of California - a company that makes similar structures for NASCAR. The tent took about an hour to construct from when it was removed from its trailer and several more hours were spent outfitting the area with supplies and equipment.

During the Air Show, the hospital that has a 50-person capacity, will be staffed with four to five physicians, an orthopedic surgeon, a pharmacist and many more emergency and medical volunteers as well as several non-medical individuals who are on hand to repair equipment and keep the area safe and running smoothly.

Aside from the common requests for band-aids and sunscreen, hospital volunteers are prepared for just about anything that can happen including broken bones, strained muscles, dehydration, strokes, heart attacks, heat stroke and other injuries or illnesses - all incidents that have been encountered in the past. The hospital has a critical care area, complete with injury-specific supply bags and an X-ray machine that allows patients to take their X-ray images home with them on a CD to bring to their regular physician.

According to Lawrence, on a hot and humid day the hospital will serve about 90 to 100 people.

"We will see the people that may have needed to go to the hospital even if they had stayed home, but also, because of the heat, lack of shade and general atmosphere of the show, the number of patients increase," said Lawrence.

"We're able to handle everything from needing a band-aid to dealing with a plane crash," said EMT Alex Potts of Coventry. "We really do see it all."

The hospital is also stocked with aspirin, feminine care products, toiletries and pretty much anything else that a guest or participant could need in a pinch. Apart from the main medical area, the Air Show also has three additional aid stations on the flight line and spectators are urged to ask anyone in uniform for directions or assistance if they need it.

In addition to serving the Quonset Air Show, the field hospital is also utilized at sporting and music events, including the Newport Folk, Jazz and Tall Ships festivals. Volunteers are always needed and anyone interested in helping should visit www.riresponds.org or contact info@riresponds.org.