GMR Deploys More Than 275 Medical Personnel for COVID Response

DALLAS—Global Medical Response (GMR) has answered a call from FEMA to help areas affected by COVID-19. GMR sent 80 ambulances and more than 275 medical and command staff personnel from its ground business unit, American Medical Response (AMR), and participating network providers to hard-hit communities in Missouri and Louisiana.

This is in response to a FEMA request to help the federal government and local emergency personnel respond to record surges in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

“As the COVID-19 Delta variant continues to spread rapidly, many communities across the country are in the midst of another wave of infections,” said GMR COO Ted Van Horne. “We are supporting FEMA by providing first responder crews and ambulances to assist our fellow emergency services providers in Missouri and Louisiana.” Van Horne added that GMR is also sending logistics teams to provide additional support for the deployed first responders.

He said that the COVID-19 deployments are focused on helping local teams with several important medical efforts, including (these vary by location):

• Administration of monoclonal antibody treatment
• Augmenting hospital ER staff 
• Hospital decompression (transporting COVID patients to alternate care sites to reduce hospital congestion)
• Supporting/augmenting 9-1-1 emergency medical transport capabilities.

Deployed crews are currently on a month-long activation, but that can change as the situation evolves. They will stay in the area as long as needed. When they arrive at their assigned area, the caregivers will be working under the guidance of FEMA, state and local EMS agencies.

Van Horne added that the deployments do not affect GMR’s or the other EMS providers’ ability to meet the needs of patients in home communities. GMR air and ground teams continue to provide emergency and non-emergency transports to tens of thousands of patients nationwide.

This is the second year of COVID-19 related deployments for GMR. In 2020, the company deployed thousands of EMS crews and ambulances to states hard-hit by the pandemic, including New York, New Jersey, Texas, Minnesota, and California.

Throughout the pandemic, GMR has closely monitored frontline caregivers, including those deployed at the request of FEMA, using state-of-the-art monitoring and medical assessments via the company’s SafeRestart program.

AMR is the primary medical ground transportation division of parent company Global Medical Response. AMR is FEMA’s primary emergency medical service response provider and has a national agreement with FEMA to provide ground ambulance, air ambulance, paratransit services and non-ambulance EMS personnel to supplement federal and military response to a disaster, act of terrorism or other public health emergency. Van Horne said teams prepare for emergency responses around the country with year-round training exercises, storing equipment and vehicles in strategic locations. This preparation enables the company to respond usually within 36–48 hours’ notice.