UCSF Nurses Volunteer to Aid Hurricane Victims
Several nurses from UCSF are volunteering to aid victims suffering in the Gulf Coast states hit by Hurricane Katrina.
UCSF doctoral student Pamela Foreman, a registered nurse with experience in providing disaster relief and leadership amid chaos, left for the Gulf Coast region on Monday as it begins to recover from the hurricane and the floods that followed.
"The American Red Cross has called and I have decided to travel to the Hurricane Katrina disaster area," Foreman wrote in an email to friends before leaving for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "I am fortunate in that my husband (Peter) has also decided to go and we are going as a couple. I will tend to evacuees and he will likely do very challenging and emotional work" of recovery.
Foreman is among volunteers from the University of California to lend a helping hand in the massive humanitarian relief effort in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster in the US since the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.
Several other health care providers from UCSF have reportedly departed on their own for the areas ravaged by the storm. See story here.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt last week asked that hospitals form teams of medical volunteers to staff the medical shelters being erected in areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. Efforts are being coordinated by the UC Office of the President, as well as the California Hospital Association and the American Hospital Association. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is coordinating a transfer program for inpatients from the affected area, and UCSF is participating.
John Kanaley, executive administrator of Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco, is leading the effort to coordinate the response from this area. UCSF was asked to help recruit medical volunteers willing to serve for two-week intervals. UCSF's Chief Medical Officer Ernie Ring is coordinating the list of UCSF volunteers.
More than 100 physicians and nurses from UCSF have signed up to staff emergency medical shelters to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, according to Ring. But, as of Wednesday, no one from the medical center has officially been called to duty in the disaster area.
Meanwhile, UCSF School of Medicine Dean David Kessler on Tuesday issued an advisory on how to handle those displaced from Hurricane Katrina. This advisory is posted on the UCSF School of Medicine website and will be updated again on Thursday, Sept. 8, and as warranted.
As I am sure you are aware, last week's disaster impacts many current and future medical students, residents and fellows," Kessler said. "While we are deeply concerned about all people affected by Hurricane Katrina, we may have an opportunity to assist trainees whose medical education is interrupted."
The medical school is working closely with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which is serving as a clearinghouse for requests from schools in the disaster region. The AAMC has requested that UCSF defer making any firm decisions on whether to accommodate students from affected schools until after those schools have requested such assistance.
We anticipate that the affected medical schools will want to retain their students and residents; and we will be respectful of whatever they decide," Kessler said.
Students who are affected by the disaster should visit the AAMC website for the latest guidance.
UC continues to work to ascertain the safety of its students who live in the Gulf Coast region, to accommodate students displaced by the hurricane, and to mobilize medical resources to assist in the recovery. President Dynes issued a statement Friday. That statement and a variety of other web resources related to the hurricane recovery are available here. This website also is being provided to national organizations and higher education associations so they can stay updated on what the UC system is doing.
A 30-member Disaster Medical Assistance Team, co-sponsored by San Diego-based International Relief Teams and the UCSD Medical Center, was dispatched to Louisiana, where is assessing the medical needs of hurricane victims and administering antibiotics, vaccines and various pharmaceuticals to prevent the spread of a number of communicable diseases common with hurricanes and floods.
In related news, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a stern warning about the contaminated floodwaters. The health hazards from this water make it imperative that remaining residents of New Orleans, where more than half of the city is still submerged, comply with evacuation orders, said Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read AP story here.
Source: Lisa Cisneros