September is National Preparedness Month, a time to recognize the critical importance of planning, training, and coordination in keeping our communities safe. In central and southeast Ohio, no organization embodies this commitment more than COTS, an affiliate of the Columbus Medical Association.

For more than 30 years, COTS has been the backbone of trauma, emergency services, and preparedness coordination in central Ohio. Today, it leads the Emergency Preparedness Healthcare Coalition, serving 36 counties and more than 3.3 million Ohioans. Here are a few things you may not know:

• It’s not just about trauma. COTS began in 1995 as a trauma network, but today it coordinates trauma, emergency services, and emergency preparedness across hospitals, EMS, public health, and emergency management agencies.
  
• COTS keeps hospitals connected. All 65 hospitals and freestanding emergency departments in our region support COTS’ mission, along with every helicopter air ambulance agency. 
• They prepare for the unexpected. From tornadoes and infectious disease outbreaks to cyberattacks, blood shortages, and mass casualty incidents, COTS coordinated responses to more than 20 real-world no-notice events last year.
• COTS trains thousands every year. In 2024 alone, COTS educated nearly 3,000 people in trauma, emergency services, and preparedness, creating a standardized, coordinated approach across the region.
• It runs behind-the-scenes operations. Through tools like EMResource and EMTrack, and over 192 Healthcare Incident Liaison activations last year, COTS makes sure information flows and patients, families, and hospitals stay connected when crises hit.
• COTS is a coalition-builder. Nearly 1,000 partners, from hospitals and EMS to long-term care, dialysis, hospice, and law enforcement, rely on COTS to bring people together to plan, drill, and respond as one.

This month, we especially want to recognize the Emergency Preparedness and Response staff at COTS. Their tireless work ensures that when emergencies strike, whether planned events like the Arnold Sports Festival or unplanned crises like natural disasters, Ohio communities are never alone.

Preparedness is about people, planning, and partnerships. And thanks to COTS, our region has all three.

Together, we are good health. Together, we are prepared.