Multiple teams of Tennessee health care professionals will begin deploying from Chattanooga on Friday, Sept. 8, and travel to Florida to work with local, state and federal officials in response to Hurricane Irma. The first of five ambulance strike teams, with 57 total members, will depart from the Volunteer Air National Guard Armory in Chattanooga at noon Eastern Time on Friday.
A nurse strike team is expected to deploy from Chattanooga to Florida
on Saturday.
The ambulance and nurse strike teams and incident management teams include Tennessee Department of Health employees and representatives from more than 20 other city and county agencies and hospitals from across the state. These teams include paramedics, advanced emergency medical technicians and public health professionals.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency is coordinating the deployment. All teams will base their operations out of Tallahassee, Fl. for an eight- to 14-day deployment.