Responding to Hurricane Katrina

Our nation faces the sustained and sobering task of aiding those affected by Hurricane Katrina. In the wake of immeasurable loss and suffering, the University of Rochester Medical Center is reaching out through its professional organizations, government partners, and non-profit relief agencies to assist those in need. Throughout the crisis, Medical Center leaders have been in contact with officials at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Association of Academic Health Centers (AHC), the Association of American Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the American Hospital Association (AHA), and the Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS) to understand current and emerging needs, and offer to rapid assistance.

Here’s a snapshot of what the Medical Center leaders, faculty, staff, and students are doing to help:

Helping Displaced Medical Students, Residents, and Graduate Students
Rochester is willing to accept medical students, residents, and graduate students who are need of education at the request of their home institutions. Administrators at the affected institutions, together with appropriate accreditation organizations, are making decisions as to where students and residents will continue their undergraduate or graduate education, if relocation is necessary. A second year Pharmacology Ph.D. student from Tulane is one of the first from the stricken region to enroll here, where he will complete coursework this semester, and possibly the next.

Medical School liaisons include:

• For Medical Students -- John Hansen, Ph.D., Associate Chair for Education
• For Residents -- Diane Hartmann, M.D., Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education
• For Graduate Students -- Paul LeCelle, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean

Reaching out to Nursing Students
The University of Rochester School of Nursing is working with the AACN in an effort to place nursing students who have been displaced by the disaster. Students can attend the UR tuition-free for the fall semester, and for future semesters will be requested to pay the same tuition rate charged by their home institution.

To date, we have agreed to accept:

• 8 students in the APNN program. Contact is Rita D’aoust, M.S., R.N.
• 5 students in the Nurse Practitioner program. Contact is Charlotte Torres, Ed.D., R.N., L.S., F.N.P.
• An unlimited number of students in the RN to BS program. Contact is Joann Clements, M.S., R.N.
• 6 students in the nursing leadership program. Contact is Tobie Olsan, Ph.D., R.N., C.N.A.A., B.C.
• 4 students in the Ph.D. programs. Contact is Maggie Kearney, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.

Interested students should contact Nancy Kita in the School of Nursing Admissions office.

The School of Nursing is working with the Red Cross to offer disaster training for faculty, students, and alumni. Once training is completed, faculty, students, and alums can register on the NYSNA web site and will be contacted if their assistance is needed. For more information, visit the School of Nursing web site.

Caring for the Sick and Injured
Medical and Nursing Consults
The NIH, in conjunction with the AAMC, has asked academic health centers to establish Hurricane Katrina Response Units as part of a "virtual" system of consultation, triage, and referral. In registering as a response unit, the University of Rochester Medical Center has offered to assist in the evaluation and transfer of patients who have very specific, highly challenging medical conditions, who must be evacuated out of the disaster region due to the complexity of the care they require. Strong Memorial Hospital Chief Medical Officer Raymond Mayewski, M.D., is serving as our liaison in this effort. Contact Dr. Mayewski.

Nursing faculty members are working with their professional organizations to provide clinical expertise. In addition, two faculty members were sent by the Red Cross and are currently on-site in the disaster area. Other nursing faculty are undergoing Red Cross training. Interested faculty should contact the School of Nursing Dean’s Office at (585) 273-5639.

Nursing Students
UR nursing students interested in supporting the disaster relief effort are encouraged to contact the local Red Cross, and if accepted for deployment, contact their student advisor.

Accepting Patients
Faculty and staff at Strong Memorial have offered through the American Hospital Association to make medical/surgical beds available as needed for patients that must be transferred out of the disaster area. Strong Memorial Chief Operating Officer Kathleen Parrinello serves as URMC’s liaison.

Volunteer Health Care Teams
Strong Memorial Hospital has also responded to a request from HANYS to make available a team of health professionals for a two-week period to staff field hospitals along the periphery of the disaster area. At this time, Strong is on stand-by, awaiting further information from HANYS. Anyone interested in being placed on a stand-by list should contact Anne D'Angelo in the Center for Disaster Medicine.

Fundraising
Faculty and staff from throughout the University of Rochester Medical Center and Highland Hospital have sponsored all sorts and sizes of fundraising campaigns, generating more than $26,000.  Strong Memorial and Highland hospitals placed collection stations in high-traffic areas. In just four days, Friends of Strong organized a 5K Katrina Relief Run, which had close to 75 runners and generated $1,650.  And Strong Memorial's Nursing Practice introduced a "Wear Your Jeans to Work" day that raised close to $4,000. 

You can also make a secure, on-line donation using your credit card by visiting the Red Cross website.