Air Force expeditionary medical support unit at the Houston floods: use of a military model in civilian disaster response

From June 6 to 10, 2001, Tropical Storm Allison delivered 40 inches of rain to the city of Houston, Texas. Nine of the city's hospitals were closed or severely curtailed services as a result of the flooding. All area hospitals were full to capacity, intensive care unit beds were unavailable, and patient wait times for emergency department care were 18 to 21 hours. Emergency department and intensive care unit congestion placed the entire emergency medical system of Houston in jeopardy. In response to a Federal Emergency Management Agency request, the Air Force deployed a 25-bed expeditionary medical support field hospital to Houston on June 13, 2001. The expeditionary medical support unit treated its first patient only 3.5 hours after arrival and was fully operational 8 hours later. During its 11-day stay, the facility treated 1,036 patients, including 312 ambulance arrivals, 48 inpatients, and 33 intensive care unit patients, and performed 33 dental procedures and 16 operations.