The Region 6 Healthcare Coalition coordinates emergency response across 13 West Michigan counties.
It includes hospitals, doctor’s offices, treatment centers, nursing homes, dental practices and others.
“Something as simple as a multi-car accident or something as critical as an explosion which affects multiple people. It could be tornadoes. It could be ice storms, whatever. Our goal is to help all entities plan, prepare for, respond to, and then recover from any disaster that may occur. “
Dr. Jerry Evans, medical director for Region 6, says the program is 100% federally funded.
The president’s budget eliminated it; the U.S. Senate proposed partial funding.
Evans worries it will fall short of supporting critical services.
“Then we can't do the coordination work that we have and the coalition that we've built over the last 20+ years would fall apart. We would not exist, the coordination aspect. The responses during disasters would not be there. “
Evans explains funding reductions would disproportionately affect rural hospitals and small independent facilities that rely on the coalitions. mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, when medical supplies were limited.
“You had to buy an entire pallet of these things, or nobody would sell it to you. So, we helped those agencies by distributing the masks and the gloves and the gowns that they needed.”
The coalitions also provide medical training and coordinate resources
“It’s important to know that we are there planning, training, educating, always ready to respond in case of a disaster.”
For a weekly dose of news right to your inbox, sign up for the WGVU newsletter
