KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Forty EMS workers from across Tennessee are southward bound to help evacuations along the Gulf Coast.

Fourteen trucks will take the employees to the Gulf Coast to evacuate hospitals ahead of Gustav's anticipated landfall this weekend.

The workers don't know when they'll return, but on the grim anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, all involved hope to avoid similar devastation.

Pro-Med Knoxville's operations manager, Tim Douglas, says, "Just to help everybody out so they don't come up like they had three years ago, where there were people still in the hospitals, trying to get them out, they're trying to go ahead now and be a little more proactive and get them out sooner."

They are set to leave Friday and are simply waiting for the dispatch call.