With one of the worst wildfire tragedies in history happening last weekend, our Health Emergency Operations Center was active all week. First making sure that there was enough behavioral health support through the Regional Behavioral Health Authorities, then helping provide some specific assistance to the shelters in Prescott and Wickenburg.
On Tuesday, we pulled special beds out of storage for both the shelters. We used CDC grant money to buy the beds and other supplies to ensure that Arizona shelters would be able to serve all the people, even those with special needs. These beds will support up to 750 pounds and are easier for people with mobility issues to get in and out of.
Another new tool that we facilitated this week is telemedicine between the affected area and the Maricopa Burn Center. The cameras at the incident are able to focus so closely on injuries that the physicians at the hospital can see how deep the burn is and triage the patient to ensure he goes to the right level of care.
The Dean Peak fire near Kingman has also forced people out of their homes, but fortunately there haven’t been any injuries. As we move through this fire season, we’ll be keeping the resources available to the counties and people of Arizona.
