by SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS

PIKEVILLE – Members of the United States Public Health Services Rapid Deployment Team have agreed to assist in the 2010 Pike County Remote Area Medical program.

“It’s an award-winning program that deserves all the attention it gets,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said. “When an invaluable service is offered to the people of Pike County and the U.S. Public Health Service volunteers to be involved it speaks volumes about the impact and benefit of this program.”

The United States Public Health Service Director of Training and Medical Readiness Commander Kimberly Elenberg, RN, said Pike County RAM will be the second domestic venture for the rapid deployment team, with the first being in Maryville, Tenn., later this year.

“We have several groups coming in for Pike County RAM,” Elenberg said. “Doctors, nurses, optometrists and dentists comprise one group and the others will be there to assist in any way possible.”

Elenberg said her initial meeting in Pikeville to discuss RAM went very well.

“I met with people in Pikeville and they all seemed very passionate,” she said. “Paul Hopkins, the Judge-Executive, the doctors; they all seemed very interested and it was obvious RAM is something that is very important to them.”

Elenberg said Pike County RAM will also be a great opportunity for those involved with the rapid deployment team to gain valuable knowledge. She said the doctors on the team work in very rural setting, but very different settings at the same time.

“We do a lot of work on reservations, which are rural, but different,” she said. “We plan to exchange knowledge and it is a big honor to come down and work with Pike County RAM.”

Pike County Social Services Director Carol Napier expects this year’s RAM to be even bigger than last year’s, and she feels the more trained people who get involved the better.

“It’s always good to have trained personnel working with any event or program that happens,” she said. “It’s especially important with something like RAM because it is so important to so many people. RAM is getting known nationwide and we should be proud to have it here in Pike County.”

RAM Kentucky Chairman Dr. Bill Collins said the USPHS is looking at Kentucky RAM’s model in order to do better hands-on disaster training.

“Our plan this year is to mesh the public health service’s plan into our plan,” Collins said. “This year’s RAM is going to be huge – the biggest thing we have ever done. We are going to have maybe 80 to 100 dental chairs and we will probably have to work in two shifts.”

Pike County Health Department Director of Public Health Paul Hopkins said the rapid deployment team will be here the whole week of RAM and members of the U.S. Public Health Services will participate in RAM meeting via conference call.

“This is a chance for members of public health services to get out of their offices and back on the ground,” Hopkins said. “It gives them the chance to gain more knowledge about what’s happening in rural communities across the country, which is what the agency wanted to do.”

Director of Missions for the Pike Association of Southern Baptists and Chaplain for Kentucky RAM, Bob Finch, said, “It sure can’t hurt having so many additional people as long as there’s adequate room.”

U.S. Public Health Services became aware of RAM when speaking with founder Stan Brock.


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