SeniorCare EMS, one of the largest ambulance services in New York City, sent three ambulances to Louisiana this morning in preparation for the arrival of tropical storm Gustav to the gulf coast. Gustav is now listed as a category three storm, with sustained winds of 70mph is anticipated to make land fall in Louisiana by 8am Tuesday morning.

SeniorCare EMS is part of the national ground ambulance disaster network, a coalition formed by FEMA after hurricane Katrina to better respond to large scale disasters.

SeniorCare EMS spokesman Joshua Hans said ” the strategy to pre-position resources ahead of the storm is a lesson learned from Katrina.

The three ambulances, two basic life support, and one advanced life support, are prepared to be self sufficient for up to 72 hours. Once on location at the FEMA staging area in Louisiana, the SeniorCare team will join dozens of other ambulances from across the country in anticipation of the storm.

Michael Vatch, CEO of SeniorCare EMS said, “we are extremely proud of our people who have committed to leave their families for what could be a two week deployment, and travel potentially into harm’s way.

(Eli Gefen – YWN Queens Ops’ Desk)