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Patricia Crenshaw, BA, EMT-B - Region 7 Healthcare Coalition Coordinator
Camp Grayling, the largest military installment east of the
Mississippi River, is home to the premier Joint Maneuver Training Center
playing host to countless National Guard units every year. With its sprawling
ranges and 3 county coverage, Camp Grayling it is the mecca of training and
exercise in Michigan and is the stage each year for Operation Northern Strike.
 Blackhawk Helicopter Landing Zone
147, 000 acres sprinkled with upwards of 5,000 troops from all branches including the Coast Guard was just the end result of vigorous planning and meeting for almost a year in advance between the National Guard, local emergency management and the Region 7 Healthcare Coalition. With the number of service members participating in this live-fire exercise, medical operations in response to real world emergencies was a must, further solidifying the need for healthcare coalitions and that much coveted relationship between the military and civilian world. Region 7 Healthcare Coalition with the help with local Emergency Managers were able to assist in the planning on the medical side to the smallest detail. Distance between different trauma level hospitals within the region and out, transport times on ground and in the air as well as ambulance pick up points within the area of operations were among the various meeting topics. Region 7 Healthcare Coalition was also able to assist on the logistical side and provide radios for the military Medical Operations so they could directly communicate with the Coalition, EMS and the hospitals.
 Frederick Fire and EMS
Due to the nature of the full scale exercise it was vital to have a positive working relationship with emergency management, fire/ems as well as the hospitals in the responding area. With the help of multiple partners, the Coalition was able to present to the National Guard with the information needed to guarantee the readiness of the medical response to care for possible patients in case of any emergency. Preparedness efforts for many months beforehand and countless hours of phone calls, meetings and maps ensured that all civilian assets were able integrate their knowledge with the Medical Operations planners and produce one cohesive plan. Without these partnerships and relationships the room for error would dramatically increase.
It isn’t very often Healthcare Coalitions have the honor of working with military medical operations; but given the opportunity it is a valuable teaching experience. Coalitions have a responsibility to ensure a successful response to emergencies and integrate planning, preparedness and partnership into that response. The military allowed us to exercise our activation process as well as fine tune the many practices we have on paper and discover weaknesses to work on, something extremely valuable for the Coalition and its partners.
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