Governor Pat McCrory announced that North Carolina's Mobile Disaster Hospital is being sent to Mississippi to provide medical support to a community whose 41-bed hospital, medical clinics and only nursing home was destroyed by the tornadoes on Monday. The N.C. Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) is today deploying the mobile medical facility to fill a critical need for medical coverage in Louisville, Mississippi.
The Mobile Disaster Hospital includes a portable surgery unit, emergency department and trauma services, clinical area, lab services and an X-ray unit. With coordination from N.C. Emergency Management (NCEM), the equipment will move today from Mocksville to a staging area while site preparations are completed to accommodate the hospital.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to our neighbors in Mississippi and we hope that this portable medical facility will meet their critical medical needs while recovery efforts continue," said DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos. "We are anxious to get this equipment in place to help this community begin its recovery."
Monday's tornado strike in the community of 19,000 created a critical need for medical coverage. The hospital and nursing home were the community's primary employers.
Mississippi Emergency Management reached out to N.C. Emergency Management late yesterday requesting medical assistance. Governor McCrory and Secretary Wos quickly approved the medical equipment response.
A team from OEMS and NCEM will oversee the preparations and movement and the N.C. Baptist Men will help set up the hospital. The mobile medical facility is provided by way of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a disaster-relief agreement among all states.
Once set up, the local medical staff would operate the mobile disaster hospital and continue their employment to assist in their local recovery. The mobile hospital is expected to be on loan to Mississippi for about a year while their local hospital is rebuilt.
Click here for a fact sheet on the Mobile Disaster Hospital.
Click here to view additional photos of the Mobile Disaster Hospital.
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Contact: news@dhhs.nc.gov
919-855-4840