PINEDALE – Sublette County’s director of Emergency Medical Services, Bill Kluck, was contacted by the Wyoming Office of Emergency Medical Services in search of donations for medical supplies to be sent to Belize. The Sublette County Rural Health Care District (RHCD) was happy to participate.

“We had an opportunity to donate. It’s a pleasure to be able to offer support to another country who is not as privileged as our nation. We’re happy to help,” said Kluck.

The RHCD has three mass casualty incident (MCI) trailers in its inventory. These MCI trailers are provided, in part, through state grants. The trailers are designed to be readily available and full of medical supplies for an emergency situation of up to 25 injured people. Examples in Sublette County could be things like an oil and gas explosion or a tour bus accident.

One of the MCI trailers acquired in 2009 now has expired materials. This trailer’s supplies will be donated to Belize, which is open to expired materials. The RHCD will transport the trailer to Cheyenne and the Wyoming Department of Health will be responsible for the coordination of the medical supply shipment, which will be paid for by Belize. After, the trailer will be returned to Sublette County and sold by RHCD.

“Placencia, Belize, does not have a well-developed EMS system, and when I was contacted by a local medical volunteer to see if I could provide assistance, I reached out to Wyoming’s EMS through our ‘listserv.’ Many, including Sublette, responded with many generous offers of EMS equipment that is fairly specialized and not easy to obtain in Belize,” said Andy Gienapp, manager at the Office of Emergency Medical Services.

Due to a drop in the oil and gas industry and the Sublette County decrease in population, the RHCD will not be pursuing to replace this trailer at this time. However, it will continue to maintain the two existing mass casualties trailers, one in Marbleton and the other in Pinedale, and will continue to provide superior emergency services.