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Volunteer bikers to train for Kane Medical Reserve Corps The Republican --
Jan 9, 2008 --
Following a tornado, with debris clogging the roadways, how does a doctor or nurse or a shipment of medicine get to the people who need them? Motorcycles can go where four-wheeled vehicles cannot, and local bikers are volunteering their services to the Kane County Medical Reserve Corps in the event of an emergency. The volunteers will undergo training from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 5 and 12, at Trinity Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church, 16 S. 7th Ave., St. Charles. Kane County Medical Reserve Corps coordinator Patrick DeMoon contacted Dean Akey, a local St. Charles business owner and founder of the Rescue Riders program and Biker4Biker. The nonprofit group works to coordinate fundraising efforts for area motorcyclists and their families in need of help. DeMoon told Akey about the idea of training motorcycle riders to make use of their increased mobility in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. "What better group than bikers who are already helping people?" DeMoon said. The training sessions will involve first aid and CPR training geared to the 2005 American Heart Association's guidelines and will be taught by Belinda and John Guglielmo, both of whom are firefighter/paramedics. With this training, the volunteer bikers will be able to respond to the scene of an emergency and provide transportation in the critical hours immediately following the disaster. "We will have the enhanced mobility to go where a four-wheeled vehicle can't," Akey said. "In essence we're a taxi service, and we will go wherever and whenever we are needed." The Health Department established one of the first Medical Reserve Corps in the country. The MRC is a group of several hundred dedicated volunteers. They are local physicians, dentists, veterinarians, nurses, pharmacists, and other community residents. During a disaster, the biker volunteers would be in a position to enhance the mobility of the other MRC volunteers. Anyone wishing to find out more about volunteering for the Rescue Riders program should visit the Biker4Biker Web site at www.biker4biker.org. More information about the MRC can be found at the Health Department's Web site, www.kanehealth.com.
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