Two Emory Johns Creek Hospital employees returned to metro Atlanta recently, after helping with recovery efforts in Texas from Hurricane Harvey.
Roland Tam and Angelina Trinidad treated about 500 people, they say, inside a high school gym that flipped into a “makeshift emergency room” near Beaumont, Texas.
The duo volunteers for the Georgia 3 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (GA-3 DMAT), an agency that is part of the National Disaster Medical System, which provides health and medical care to patients during natural disasters and other emergencies.
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Tam is a pharmacist and clinical specialist at Emory Johns Creek, while Trinidad is a registered nurse and the house supervisor.
The federal government activated GA-3 DMAT to respond to Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28. Hurricane Harvey and flooding from it killed more than 60 people.
“When we arrived in Houston, all we saw were downed trees, flooded streets, wrecked homes and road closures,” Trinidad said. “It was devastating — my heart ached for the people there.”
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The 40 members who make up GA-3 DMAT worked 12-hour shifts to care for the hurricane victims. They created a triage area at a high school just outside of Beaumont to separate critical and ambulatory patients.
“Many pharmacies were closed due to flooding or had been ruined by the storm,” Tam said. “We dispensed medications for blood pressure, blood sugar and antibiotics because some survivors suffered wounds from falling or trying to escape the conditions.”
Trinidad says part of working in the field during disasters like Hurricane Harvey, is thinking smart and acting fast, making every second count. She says they cared for patients who suffered heart attacks, strokes and overdose.
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GA-3 DMAT spent more than a week in Texas caring for people. They are now on call for the month of September in the event they are needed to respond to another disaster.
Tam and Trinidad have volunteered for years for these types of medical missions. Both say they’re committed to helping people in need for as long as they can.
“Just knowing we’re able to help people during one of the toughest times of their lives keeps me motivated to lend a hand and make a difference,” said Tam.
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