Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Monday, May 12, 2008
Monday profile: ‘Doc’ ready for emergency response
In the days following Sept. 11, 2001, Dr. Ward Brown, like many Americans, went in search of a new way to serve his community. The cardiologist at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center had an intense desire to give back.
Brown, who served a short stint in the Marines and spent nine years with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, briefly considered a return to the military, but with a wife and three children at home decided against that move.
A short time later, while attending a health care conference, Brown was introduced to the field of tactical medicine.
“I didn’t know what it was and had to go online to get more information about it,” said Brown, who eventually put himself through the weeklong course that opened the door to becoming a staff physician and member of the La Crosse County Emergency Response Team, made up of officers from the sheriff’s office and Onalaska Police Department.
La Crosse County is just one of three departments in the state with physicians on their ERTs, Brown said.
As a member of the ERT, Brown goes through regular training and responds to every call when he is in town.
Thanks to the support of Gundersen Lutheran, Brown is cleared of his clinical duties when the call comes in. The clinic also covers the costs of the medical supplies Brown may need.
As physician for the ERT, Brown provides medical care for team members, any bystanders or “bad guys” who are injured and provides medical guidance when the team is deployed in a dangerous situation.
“By being tactically trained and a member of the group, I can go into the hot zone where bad things are happening,” Brown said. While paramedics are often called to the scene, “those people have to stay in the cold zone where it’s safe,” he said. “Having a tactical officer such as myself, I can go in and render assistance right away.”
Although he is the only ERT member who is not in law enforcement, Brown has no trouble fitting in with the group and is “one of the guys,” said La Crosse County sheriff’s Capt. Mike Horstman.
“He is truly part of the team in every sense of the word,” Horstman said. “He fits in. He interacts with everybody else. You can’t say enough about what he brings to the team not just as a person but as a medical professional.”
Coming in, Brown knew he would have to prove himself.
“The ERT is a fairly close knit fraternity. And, like any close knit fraternity, they’re a little uncertain about new people initially,” Brown said. “They just want to make sure you’re not going to do something that would jeopardize their safety or the safety of others and compromise the mission. Once they know you’re not going to do that, you’re fine.”
It is through training that he is able to fit in with the group and they can be comfortable with “an outsider” being in their group.
“I do everything they do,” he said. “When they’re doing unsavory things, like being exposed to gas, I do that, too.”
Brown was there last month when the La Crosse County Bearcat rescue vehicle was fired upon in Richland County.
“They say when you’re shot at you either get scared or mad,” Brown said. “I got mad. I don’t like to be shot at.”
That incident, like almost all of those before it, ended with no serious injuries, which pleases Brown. But, if the time comes that someone is injured, ERT members need not look far for help.
It will likely come from the man right in the thick of it with the man they simply call “Doc.”
Dan Springer can be reached at dspringer@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8269.
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