The mood was congenially serious Thursday evening, October 5, 2006, as Kane County Medical Reserve Corps’ ( MRC) paramedics taught basic first aid to a dozen volunteer motorcycle-rider members of “Rescue Riders”. Kane County MRC Coordinator Pat DeMoon had earlier contacted “Biker4Biker”charity group founder Dean Akey about an idea: training motorcycle riders to make use of their increased mobility in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. DeMoon reasoned: “What better group than bikers who are already helping people?” Akey wholeheartedly embraced the idea, which led to the formation of the Rescue Riders organization and the subsequent MRC-sponsored training session.

The Kane County (IL) Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is itself a fairly new organization, emerging after September 11, 2001, in response to the arrival of 40,000 unaffiliated volunteers’ arrival to New York City. DeMoon explains: “You can imagine that the first responders there had their hands full with other problems because of the bombings, and now they have 40,000 unaffiliated people who want to help, descending on New York where there are no toilet facilities, no food to feed these people, a myriad of problems.”

DeMoon continues: “At the time, President Bush thought we needed to organize some formal system to bring volunteers together to assist in other eventualities, either a terrorist attack or natural disasters.” The result was formation of hundreds of MRCs throughout the United States to prepare for the medical aspect of disasters. The Kane County MRC claims to be one of the first MRCs in the nation and today boasts some 200 medical and public health volunteers (see accompanying article “Kane County (IL) Medical Reserve Corps: Progress Forging Community Medical Preparedness”).

The Kane County MRC-Rescue Riders course was held at Trinity Christian Vineyard Fellowship (St. Charles, IL) in space generously provide by long-time Vineyard Pastor Dan Rak, who is also a volunteer with the Kane County MRC.

Akey envisions the Rescue Riders group growing to about 100 bikers trained in basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to support medical first responders, such as doctors, nurses, and paramedics, by providing, augmented transport capability and comfort to the worried well, among other support functions.

The Rescue Riders organization is a dynamic work-in-progress. Akey foresees that bikers who join Rescue Riders and successfully traverse an established curriculum may join the Kane County MRC or another MRC closer to their homes.

Akey also predicts a program in which Rescue Riders continuously improve their navigation and geographic skills to contribute to community disaster relief efforts. For example, bikers carrying needed medical supplies who know the myriad roads and pathways in a stricken region may efficiently negotiate between Points A and B separated by traffic jams, floodwaters, fallen buildings, or other hazards.

Veteran Paramedic John Guglielmo and Paramedic-Nurse Belinda Guglielmo taught the Basic First Aid course to the gathered Rescue Riders. They challenged the wide-awake attendees with realistic and original case scenarios, enhanced by expert moulaging (theatrical make-up to simulate injuries and medical conditions) and theatrical-quality acting.

Bikers interested in finding out more about volunteering for the Rescue Riders program are encouraged to visit the Biker4Biker Web site at www.biker4biker.org (accessed October 8, 2006).