[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 21 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO DR. TOM BLACKWELL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SUE WILKINS MYRICK

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 16, 2006

  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the great work 
of one of my constituents, Dr. Tom Blackwell. Dr. Blackwell is a credit 
to the medical community in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he serves 
as an emergency room physician and EMS specialist at Carolinas Medical 
Center.
  In early September, Dr. Blackwell and his team took their hospital on 
wheels--Carolinas MED-1--to Waveland, Mississippi to care for sick and 
injured Hurricane Katrina victims.
  This mobile medical unit is a one-of-a-kind creation, originally 
devised by Dr. Blackwell to respond to terror attacks and other 
national disasters. Its two tractor trailers transform into a 14-bed 
hospital with operating facilities, radiology, and pharmacy support.
  More than 350 doctors, nurses, and other North Carolina medical 
professionals spent about 2 months in Mississippi--caring for nearly 
5,000 patients in a debris-strewn K-mart parking lot. They bravely 
dealt with life-threatening injuries and other medical needs--from 
attending to heart attack patients to delivering babies.
  Our mobile hospital workers were praised for their effectiveness in 
the Final Report of the Committee to Investigate the Response to 
Hurricane Katrina, released on February 15, 2006. Charlotteans and 
Carolinians alike can be very proud of their neighbors who participated 
in MED-1's mission to the Gulf Coast, and I thank them for their 
outstanding service to fellow Americans in need.

                          ____________________