Responding When
Bad Weather Threatens
By Melody Newsom
Bexar County Medical Society
Office Operations Manager
As the daughter of and eventually
the wife of a dry land cotton
farmer, meteorology has always
been one of my passions. Keeping an
eye on the sky and the weather is
ingrained in me.
As such, with the recent events of
Tropical Storm Erin and threat of Hurricane Dean on the
Texas Gulf Coast, my role as the staff liaison to the Bexar
County Medical Society Emergency Preparedness
Committee, as well as the Office Operations Manager, has
been doubly rewarding.
As a part of South Texas Region 8, BCMS has been working
with the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (SAMHD)
and the Texas Department on State Health Services (DSHS) for
many years to assist them in ensuring the medical community
is prepared to respond to any local or state emergencies that
might arise.
From assisting DSHS and SAMHD in disseminating public
health alerts and information through our distributive fax/email
system, to the development and implementation of the
region-wide Unified ID Badge system and by the coordination
of medical professionals during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and
potentially Dean, BCMS has been working to ensure we are
the organization that the community can count on to assist
their efforts.
Due to these continued efforts, BCMS has a seat at the
Regional Medical Operations Center (RMOC) and at the
Medical Volunteer Operations Center (MVOC). During emergency
events, both centers are located at the Alamo Regional
Command Center (ARCC).
As the staff liaison to the Emergency Preparedness
Committee, it is my pleasure to work closely with such wonderful
leaders as Bernard “Buddy” Swift, DO — chair BCMS
Emergency Preparedness Committee; Charles Bauer, MD —
vice chair and Don Gordon, MD – EMS medical director, as
well as many others. Their leadership and dedication to the
safety and preparedness of our community has inspired my
interest in emergency preparedness.
As a result, I have spent time representing BCMS during
emergency preparedness drills at the RMOC, at the Regional
Emergency Medical Preparedness Steering Committee
(REMPSC) meetings, and as a member of the Unified ID
Badge Advisory Committee through Southwest Texas Regional
Advisory Council on Trauma (STRAC).
When local officials recently called a meeting to discuss
standing up the ARCC due to the threat of Hurricane Dean, I
was there. As the event unfolded, I monitored the storm’s path
constantly, listened in on the statewide conference calls twice
daily, and spent each day at the RMOC and MVOC to ensure
BCMS would be able to respond immediately to any requests
for physician volunteers. This constant monitoring also
ensured I would be able to disseminate information to the
BCMS membership at a moments notice.
I am very proud of the role BCMS and our physicians have
in emergency preparedness, and how willing they are to be
leaders in our community.
Who could guess an early interest in weather would lead
me to such a fulfilling role? I am honored to represent BCMS
as the go-to person to assist the medical community, in weather-related and other emergencies.
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