Response of the New Mexico Disaster Medical Assistance Team in St. Croix after Hurricane Hugo.
Our DMAT pulled together with the energy, flexibility, and adaptability necessary to make things work. Sally Coan expressed it best, saying, "I was with a group of people who would do anything [that was] needed." Dedication and trust within the DMAT helped create lasting friendships. The islanders were appreciative and we formed attachments to them that made them too dear to leave without sadness. The DMAT did leave, but we left in place an established medical system that the island would not otherwise have had a standard of care of which we felt proud.
Lewis-Rakestraw
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D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D008493:Medical Missions / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009516:New Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D014767:United States Virgin Islands; D014838:Volunteers; D000078329:Workforce