James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital - Tampa, Florida

JAHVH Emergency Managers Travis Garrett and Robert Foster help Veterans Health Administration Office of Emergency Management Logistician Bret McLaughlin and Information Technology Operations and Services IT Specialist Dave Burke load supplies into the Multi-Use Vehicle before McLaughlin and Burke departed for the Florida Keys Sept. 14.

Even as James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics were completing their recovery from the effects of Hurricane Irma, they were busy preparing to send help to areas even harder hit by the storm.

A team of two VA employees were dispatched by the VHA Office of Emergency Management to pick up the Multi-Use Vehicle (MUV) from Tampa and head south to Miami.  There they will join up with a Mobile Medical Unit and clinical team and travel to the Florida Keys to provide service for Veterans hard hit as the storm passed through Sept. 10.

Hurricane Irma struck the keys with winds in excess of 120 mph, causing widespread damage and destruction.  The team is headed to Key Largo to provide much needed medical services to area Veterans.

“We’re going to travel as a team pair to go down and give Veterans service – power, electricity, communications ability, cooling station and anything else we can provide for them while we’re there,” said OEM Logistician Bret McLaughlin of Omaha, Neb.  His traveling partner is Dave Burke, an information technology specialist who works for ITOPS – IT Operations and Services – out of Boston.  Burke will be using the equipment in the MUV to provide communications and Wi-Fi capabilities for the entire team.

The vehicle, also known as HERO – Health Emergency Response Operations – is a 33,000-pound four-wheel drive vehicle that can be used as a mobile command post or for patient transportation during emergency operations.  It is outfitted with a multitude of communications options, to include satellite radio and the ability to communicate on the radio frequency of any VA hospital in the country.  It’s one of only 12 in the VA system prepositioned at facilities across the country.

“We spent two years lobbying to have this vehicle stationed here in Tampa,” JAHVH Emergency Manager Travis Garrett said.  “We knew it would be an important asset, and this mission shows just how important it is.”

JAHVH Emergency Management provided supplies for the MUV – bottled water, shelter-in-place kits, flashlight, batteries and other essential gear before the vehicle departed Sept. 14.

According to McLaughlin, the request for assistance came from the local Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

“It was officially requested that they needed additional support,” McLaughlin said.  “So when the CBOC says it can stand on its own and continue servicing the Veterans down there, then we’ll be given the green light to demobilize.”

He said they were told to expect to stay about at least five days.  The MUV will return to JAHVH when the mission is completed.

Editor’s Note:  The team arrived in Key Largo the evening of Sept. 14.