THE
I S S U E DAT E 10•10•17
BEACON
VOLUME 14 NO. 3
BY THE STUDENTS, FOR THE STUDENTS
SMCC Faculty Aid Hurricane Relief Efforts By Troy Hudson On Sept. 10, as Hurricane Irma made landfall in Cudjoe Key, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, much of the country was anxiously awaiting news of its impacts. It seemed almost everyone knew someone in the state of over 20 million, and no place in the Sunshine State appeared totally safe from the storm’s destruction. The ultimate path may have been uncertain, but one sobering fact was sinking in: The Florida Keys were going to receive a direct hit from a Category 4 hurricane, and words like “leveled” and “decimated” were being used to describe the expected aftermath. While most of us probably felt thankful to be so far from the storm’s path, three SMCC faculty members were awaiting a call to action. Brian Dougher is the SMCC men’s soccer coach as well as the emergency management coordinator for Maine Medical Center. Nate Contreras and Clif Whitten are adjunct faculty in the Paramedicine program. Contreras is also a captain with the Scarborough Fire Department as well as a registered nurse, while Whitten is a lieutenant and EMS coordinator with the Saco Fire Department. They all belong to an organization called the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) that responds to major medical emergencies whenever states request aid from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). When a major medical disaster requires support from HHS, teams like the one Dougher belongs to, known as Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, or DMATs, are activated and deployed. The DMAT that serves Maine, New
Hampshire and Vermont, known as NH1, is no stranger to the destruction hurricanes leave behind: they were deployed to New York in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast, causing $75 billion in damages and killing 174 people. This time, they were in Marathon Key and running an improvised tent hospital within two days of landfall. “The unique thing about the DMAT teams is that when they’re sent out, they’re basically self-sufficient for 72 hours,” Dougher Photo courtesy of: NASA/NOAA GOES Project explained. “We’re sent to locations where we NOAA’s GOES East satellite shows Tropical Storm Irma centered over central Florida on Sept. 11 at 10:45 a.m. know we may not get backup for a couple of days, so we’ve got to carry all the over 700 people. According to Contreras, injuries included equipment we need.” Dougher’s team set up a tent hospital “lacerations, strokes, cardiac issues, pediatric illnesses and in the parking lot of Fishermen’s Community Hospital in even medication refills. Many people lost their medications Marathon Key. The hospital itself sustained major damage during the evacuation phase of the hurricane.” The temand will be out of service for months. porary clinic served as an emergency department, deterDuring their three-week stay, the team helped serve (Continued on Page 2)
Fall in Full Swing in Southern Maine By The Beacon Staff The brilliant but short-lived splendor of a New England fall is on full display in Southern Maine, and admission to the spectacle is free for all. You don’t have to go far to experience the beautiful colors, crinkling of leaves underfoot and earthy smells of autumn. The photos featured here were all taken just a few miles from the South Portland campus.
A walk outside is strongly recommended to get the full sensory experience, and there is no shortage of places to explore in our part of the state. On page 10, our Midcoast correspondent Dan Elliott recommends two great (and easy!) hiking destinations in the Freport area. As you start to feel the crunch of looming midterms, be sure to spend a little time enjoying one of the greatest pleasures of life in Maine.
Top: Student Ashley Holmes outside Oceanview Dining Hall enjoying local Maine apples. Bottom left to right: Baxter Woods in Portland; mushrooms on the Robinson Woods Trail, Cape Elizabeth; cattails in Scarborough Marsh.
All photos by Troy Hudson, except top right by Rachel Fisk