Medical trailer in operation

Fred Wally, left, and Tom Kincaid stand in front of the emergency medical trailer outfitted by Kannapolis Rotary for the Presbytery of Charlotte. Photo by Hugh Fisher, Salisbury Post.

By Hugh Fisher

hfisher@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS – This weekend, the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina brings fresh memories of the devastation and tragedy that struck the Gulf coast.

Fortunately, a new resource is on hand to help North Carolinians respond to disasters.

Two weeks ago, the Kannapolis Rotary Club celebrated the completion of major work on what they’ve dubbed the Emergency Medical Response Unit.

The 53-foot drop-frame trailer, which was purchased by the club two years ago, has been transformed into a mobile doctor’s office.

The club then donated it to the Presbytery of Charlotte for use in disaster relief efforts.

Kannapolis Rotary Club President Tom Kincaid was inspired by a trip to the Katrina-ravaged Gulf in 2006.

In the wake of a disaster, many people need care for small injuries that could become life-threatening.

“Here, if you get a cut, you put a Band-Aid on it, put a little Neosporin on it, and you’re good to go,” he said.

“But when you’re walking in water infested with e. coli and other bacteria, that can become a life-threatening situation.”

On his trip, Kincaid also saw a lack of facilities where women and children could receive treatment in private.

“It’s hard to do anything in a disaster if you don’t have the facilities,” he said.

Enter the Presbytery of Charlotte, which serves Cabarrus and six other central North Carolina counties.

Trucks from the Presbytery have helped relieve flood victims in Iowa, transported food and supplies bound for earthquake-stricken Haiti and, closer to home, helped deliver donations from around the U.S. to local food banks.

Parked outside of Gilwood Presbyterian Church off Odell School Road, to passers-by the new medical trailer might look like any rig parked between hauls.

But inside, the hum of a generator and heat pumps muffles the footsteps of Kincaid and Fred Wally, volunteer with the Presbytery.

They proudly point out the walls which will provide privacy, the sink and toilet, the storage room that hold a refrigerator and supply closets.

Equipped with three beds, one of which is outfitted for OB/GYN exams, the medical trailer can treat pregnant women, people with broken bones or in need of sutures, and more.

It’s the product of communities coming together over two years for a cause.

“This thing is 100 percent volunteer effort,” Wally said.

“All of the plumbers and electricians donated their time,” Kincaid said. Many of the supplies were also donated or provided at reduced cost, too.

And Rotary members, local Boy Scouts and others donated hours of their time for other tasks, like painting and carpentry.

“If you add everything up, you’ve got a group of at least 50 people,” Kincaid said.

Now, the trailer can be brought to a disaster area, hooked into local water or power supplies (or a generator and emergency water supply) and quickly begin seeing patients.

The current plan calls for a crew to accompany the trailer down, followed by volunteer doctors and nurses transported separately.

The medical staff will work one-week shifts, Kincaid said, before returning home.

“It’s a high-stress situation,” he said.

But the trailer itself would stay until it’s no longer needed, Kincaid said.

The idea of converting cargo trailers into emergency housing, showers and medical units is nothing new.

But this trailer is the first of its kind in the Charlotte Presbytery, and Kincaid said it’s the foundation for an entirely mobile mini-hospital.

“I would really like to see a trailer built for 24-hour care,” he said. “We saw a lot of situations where we really wanted to keep patients overnight.”

Barring a few boxes of bandages and assorted medical supplies, “This trailer could be ready to go anywhere in two hours,” Wally said.

The biggest challenge right now is finding enough power.

The current generator will run lights and outlets, as well as the heat pumps.

The trailer is equipped with the right hook-ups to feed off of a meter at a business if electricity is available, Wally said.

But a larger diesel generator is needed to allow enough power to run more medical equipment.

Donations of first aid supplies and money for upkeep would also be appreciated, Wally said.

“We need anything and everything,” he said.

Also, donations of an office-style water cooler and large 5-gallon bottles of water would be helpful.

“We hope we’ll never use it,” Wally said of the trailer.

But it’s ready for service in an uncertain world, where planning for disaster is a matter of asking not if one will occur, but when and where.