Region 7 Coalition Members Active in Camp Grayling Centennial Planning

Public Health Guardian Article
October 2013 

As part of making sure that the 100 year celebration of Camp Grayling was a success the Region 7 Healthcare Coalition participated in the planning and response for this 2 day event.
Many partners were needed to make the Centennial celebration a success. With the Governor, the Adjutant General, other generals and various congressmen in attendance the 100 year celebration was a potential terrorist target. In addition close to 15 thousand civilians and 5000 soldiers would be on base. Months of planning from several regional and local partners were necessary to make this event a success.

Initial medical planning for the July 19-20, 2013 centennial event started in May and was led by Army National Guard Captain Chris Randall. Cpt. Randall had experience working with the Region 7 Healthcare Coalition having been a voting planning board member in the past at Ostego Memorial hospital. The Region 7 Coordinator, Gary Rapelje and Region 7 Medical Director, Dr. Kal Attie quickly brought several resources to the planning table including the Crawford Count Community Emergency Response Team and the Frederic Fire/EMS department. MMR EMS based in Grayling was also involved along with the troop medical clinic on base, North Flight EMS (helicopter resource) and Mercy Hospital Grayling.

As part of the planning process the Region 7 office (along with OPHP) supplied a MedRun pack to be staged at a secure location on Camp Grayling. To additionally bolster any potential response an alternative care center trailer was also strategically pre-deployed to provide an additional 50 fully medically equipped treatment beds. Frederic Fire also pre-deployed their mass casualty trailer along with MMR’s disaster response and treatment trailer. MI-CIMS (Web EOC) was also used to track planning and any needed responses by law enforcement and the region 7 Regional Medical Coordination Center.

With all planning done for three months leading up to the centennial celebration the 19th and 20th of July quickly came around. Major Zultac, the Operations Officer in Charge (OIC), allowed Rapelje, the Regional Coordinator, to have a position in the operations center as the only civilian. Being allowed to be in the operations center gave the Region and Camp Grayling the advantage of having firsthand knowledge of any potential medical events and the ability to provide a quick response if needed.

The two day centennial celebration ended uneventfully. A total of 14 soldiers were treated for dehydration related symptoms and 15 civilians for minor injuries. Months of planning allowed 65 volunteers, which included many first responders, to enjoy the 2 day celebration and the public was ensured that if needed there was a plan and people in place to take care of any medical need.