Robert ScarlattiA Chattanooga nurse traveled to Washington, D.C., to provide medical support for President Donald Trump's Fourth of July celebration.
Robert Scarlatti arrived Tuesday in the nation's capital, where he will work in a medical tent for the Salute to America Independence Day Celebration. The Bastille Day-inspired event is expected to include tanks, flyovers, fireworks and a speech from the president at the Lincoln Memorial.
"I just like to do any event, but the chance to go to Washington, D.C., for the Fourth of July is pretty awesome," Scarlatti said. "This is supposed to be the largest event of its kind in history."
Scarlatti is a member of the National Disaster Medical System's Disaster Medical Assistance Team. The team typically responds to disasters to supply additional medical care to support local efforts at the request of federal, state or local authorities. They also provide support for large national events.
The team will help with the expected influx of people for this week's festivities. Independence Day is the largest holiday celebration in Washington, D.C., with hundreds of thousands of guests, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
"Typically at a summer event like this we see people who are suffering from dehydration or a heat-related illness or from a non-life threatening injury/illness," reads a statement from National Disaster Medical System Director Helga Scharf-Bell. "However, we also can provide the initial life-saving care for more serious injuries or illnesses and stabilize a patient for transportation by DC Fire/EMS to a local hospital."
There will be eight medical tents set up to provide aid to those in the district, Scarlatti said.
The 68-year-old registered nurse works at Erlanger's new Behavioral Health Hospital on Holtzclaw Avenue. He has been a nurse for 15 years and worked as a therapist for 21 years before that.
He signed up for the disaster medical assistance team 15 years ago at the recommendation of a fellow nurse in Parkridge's intensive care unit.
"It seemed like it would be fun and exciting, and it has been," he said.
He travels about four times a year with the team, but some years, especially during an active hurricane season, it can be more often.
He provided aid after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti following a devastating earthquake.
"All the major storms, I've been there," he said.
The team usually arrives a couple days after the incident and treats patients who still need to be seen or have additional medical needs.
"We're just here to take care of people as needs arise," he said. "Whatever need there is."
Contact Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook at ChattanoogaOutdoorsTFP.