Emergency plan depends heavily on cooperation

To the editor:

Thanks to Mike Wells for the article on our Cape Girardeau County Emergency Management Action Committee and plans for strategically placed disaster first-aid supplies. However, an extremely important piece of information we wanted to share with the public was left out, that being the cooperation between first-responding agencies in our county and how closely we work together.

The EMAC meets every three months, and subcommittees meet as often as needed. Sometimes we have up to 40 public and private agencies at our meetings. The medical subcommittee consists of Southeast Missouri Hospital, St. Francis Medical Center, Cape County Private Ambulance, American Red Cross, Cape Girardeau County Emergency Management Office, Cape Girardeau and Jackson fire departments, State Emergency Management Agency and Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center.

We're convinced this project has great value, not only to address minor and moderate injuries out in the field when an emergency arises, but to save precious time in local emergency rooms by doing so. Being able to treat injuries in the field will assist in preventing a bottleneck of patient traffic. Please consider how fortunate this county is to have a group of agencies dedicated to the idea of EMAC.

CHARLOTTE CRAIG

Director

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center

Cape Girardeau