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EMERGENCY
MEDICINE

PREPARING
FOR EVENTS
THEY HOPE
WILL NEVER
COME

By Mike W. Thomas

San Antonio’s Emergency Preparedness Division employees have said, they rely on coordinating a host of volunteers to get things
had it pretty easy for the last several years and for that they count done. Their Medical Volunteer Coordinating Center is designed
themselves lucky. to get an army of volunteers roused and in place in the event of
any kind of emergency.
Tasked with overseeing the city’s response to major catastrophes
– hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, “We must rely on volunteers,” said Evelyn Garza, special activities
and more – they have had plenty of time to plan and prepare since coordinator. “We need medical professionals to man our shelters
the last major events to hit San Antonio. That was the H1N1 virus and conduct our screening programs. We don’t have any doctors on
outbreak in 2009-10 and hurricanes Ike and Gustav in 2008. staff and so it all must be done by volunteers.”

“We have been very fortunate lately,” said George Perez, senior Garza said they work closely with the Bexar County Medical So-
management analyst. “We have dodged a lot of bullets these past ciety to find doctors willing to volunteer their time and services in
few years.” the event of a crisis. Soon they will also be working closely with
medical students at University of the Incarnate Word when the
Currently, the division is preparing for a possible outbreak of the school opens its medical campus at Brooks City Base next door to
Zika virus that has been causing problems in other parts of the globe. the city’s Emergency Preparedness offices.
But regardless of whether there is ever an outbreak here, the goal is
to have a plan of action just in case. Perez said San Antonio has an excellent reputation for emergency
preparedness and has been recognized nationally for its emergency
“Failure to plan is a plan to fail,” Perez quipped. response systems. San Antonio is typically the go-to city for many
If and when one of these plans has to be put in place, Perez

20 San Antonio Medicine • March 2016