Courtesy Photo­Image Loren Eaton, at left, Rescue Captain at Thedford, accepts a triage bag from Sharon Steele, EMS­Trauma Program Coordinator for Nebraska Health & Human Services and Sue Mulligan, West Central Medical Response System Coordinator.

The West Central Medical Response System presented bags of supplies to deal with medical emergencies Thursday to Emergency Medical Service groups throughout the area.

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The "mass casualty triage bags" were presented to Perkins County, North Platte, Stapleton, Brady, Wallace, Maxwell, Sutherland, and Thedford EMS units during the EMS Run Review meeting in North Platte.

Overall, 40 triage bags will be provided to EMS ambulance units in the 16-county West Central Medical Response System region, Susan Mulligan of the Great Plains Regional Medical Center said.

The bags contain such supplies as flags, patient triage tags, triage color tape, safety identification vests, forms and instructions for EMS staff to conduct field triage after a mass causality incident.

The equipment and training will help EMS personnel sort and group injured victims by severity of injuries. Treatement can then be prioritized by injury severity and transported to hospitals first.

The bags will be carried in ambulance units.

The intent is to help EMS ambulances give a uniform response and improve integration of emergency medical services in the West Central Medical Response System, response plan and participation in WCMRS disaster drill exercises.

Systematic response

The purpose of the Nebraska Regional Medical Response Systems is to prepare local medical systems, including fire, law enforcement, emergency management, government entities and community organizations, for an integrated, coordinated response to any disaster situation, Mulligan said.

The West Central Medical Response system covers 16 counties: Arthur, Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Grant, Hayes, Hitchcock, Hooker, Keith, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Perkins, Red Willow and Thomas.

The WCMRS Regional Plan integrates elements of existing emergency response plans and does not supersede or replace them but is meant to interface with existing response plans, Mulligan said.