Medics provide critical support during hurricane Published Sept. 16, 2004 By 2nd Lt. Ellen Harr 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Four respiratory therapists from the 59th Medical Wing here are working side by side with Navy and civilian medics to provide critical support at a shelter in Orlando, Fla., during the hurricane in Florida.Staff Sgts. James Woods and Jennifer Murphy, Senior Airman Tabitha Freeman and Airman 1st Class Rachel Taylor left Sept. 12 to fill a critical shortage as Hurricane Ivan approached.Sergeant Woods, the team leader for the group of Airmen working in the shelter, said the services they are providing are critical. Many of the patients would not be able to survive without support from the shelter, which is located in the Orlando/Orange County Convention Center.Orlando-area nursing homes, which lost power when hurricanes Charley and Frances hit central Florida, sent their patients to the shelter. Patients with home ventilators also came to the shelter when their homes lost power.They needed close attention from respiratory therapists, said Maj. (Dr.) Walter Rustmann, chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine for the 59th MDW and pulmonary flight commander. Since there were not enough respiratory therapists available in Orlando, military respiratory therapists were asked to help support the shelter."The shelter is a large, open area -- like a hangar. It's not like working in the hospital, where you can just plug the oxygen in," Sergeant Woods said. "We have to set up tanks and find new ways of helping conserve oxygen for patients."Dr. Rustmann said he has complete confidence in the respiratory therapists' ability to work in a joint setting and adapt to even the most difficult conditions. He had observed the quality of their work firsthand while deployed to Afghanistan."They are some of the best-trained respiratory therapists in the world," he said. "We're very proud of them, for supporting this mission and for doing the job they do every day. They can do it anyplace, anytime that they're needed.""We're proud to lend our service to the community in their time of need," Sergeant Woods said. Respiratory therapists provide physicians and nurses with specialized knowledge about respiratory equipment and perform complex respiratory therapy procedures. They work independently in critical-care settings to address a patient's respiratory needs.Besides working in field hospitals at deployed locations, Air Force respiratory therapists also work on critical-care air transport teams, helping to stabilize patients during flights from near the battlefield to more advanced medical-treatment facilities.The Air Force respiratory therapists in Orlando will continue to alternate 12-hour shifts with Navy respiratory therapists, until their patients can return home safely.