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September 2, 2005
Johns Hopkins has decided to build its own 100-person team of physicians, nurses,
pharmacists, technicians and others to respond rapidly if called upon to participate
in the federal government's emergency medical relief plan for the Gulf Coast
region devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
The disaster administrator for each part of Hopkins Medicine will collect
information from staff who wish to volunteer for disaster response.
You will hear from your disaster administrator today. Their names/organizations
are: JHH/SOM -- Howard Gwon, JHBMC -- Mark Shamash, HCGH -- Kenneth
Shaw, JHHome Care Group -- Dawn Hohl, JHSchool of Nursing -- Claire
Bogdanski, JHU (other than for JHMI) -- James Zeller, JHCommunity
Physicians -- practice administrator or medical director for each
office, JHBSPH -- name to be announced later.
Types of volunteers who may be needed include: physicians, nurses, administrators,
administrative assistants, logistics experts, pharmacists, pharmacy assistants,
supervisory nurses, advanced practice nurses or physicians assistants, respiratory
therapists, social workers, pastoral care experts, clinical engineers and clinical
technicians. (See full list below.*)
The information collected by each organization's point person will be forwarded
to the Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR), which is coordinating
Hopkins' response to the crisis. Employees also are asked to inform their disaster
administrator if they already have registered with another group to provide assistance
or if they are scheduled to be deployed by any other group to provide assistance.
It goes without saying that department directors and supervisors must be informed.
Volunteers will need to be ready to leave on short notice for up to two weeks'
deployment to the storm-ravaged region, where conditions are reported to be extremely
hot and harsh. Volunteers will need to have recent immunizations against tetanus
and hepatitis-A, as well as the approval of their supervisor to leave for an
extended period. Whenever staff members volunteer to leave their positions temporarily
to respond to a crisis elsewhere, other staff members must be available to volunteer
to assume the duties of their absent colleagues.
While awaiting further information about the specific types of medical and nursing
personnel Hopkins may need, CEPAR is assembling its team based on plans it has
in place for forming a "D-MAT" team.
A broad-based federal response to the disaster and ensuing medical crisis is
being formulated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and
other agencies. HHS has declared a public health emergency in the entire Gulf
Coast area and plans to build 40 medical shelters, each staffed with 100 medical
personnel. Hopkins' team would be one of these. We also may receive patients
evacuated from the Gulf region and flown to Baltimore.
CEPAR requests that any JHMI personnel interested in volunteering to go to a
flood-stricken area not do so independently. Until the need in the stricken area
is better understood, it is best for volunteers not to go there on their own.
To do so could impede a coordinated response and would interfere with ongoing
local response efforts. Furthermore, volunteers who go on their own may be turned
away by local officials. The Johns Hopkins Health System's legal department also
notes that Hopkins' medical liability coverage only can be extended to personnel
who volunteer as representatives of Hopkins Medicine, not as individuals.
Thank you for your assistance at this critical time.
Gabor Kelen, M.D.
Director of CEPAR
Director, Johns Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine
*A full list of the approximately 100 to 120 personnel being sought
for deployment as volunteers includes:
Medical positions
12 Medical officers/Physicians
4 Pharmacists
4 Pharmacy assistant
8 Supervisory nurses
24 Staff nurses
16 Advanced practice nurses or physician assistants
16 Paramedics/Clinical Technicians
20 other support positions - types to be determined
Non-Medical Positions
4 Team Leaders (may be medical personnel but not required)
2 - 4 Safety Officer
2 - 4 Administrative
4 Administrative Assistant/Clerical
4 Logistics
2 Communications/Public Affairs
2 Communications/IT
Others desirable individuals
Infection Control
Psychiatry
Social Work
Pastoral Care
Clinical Engineering
Respiratory Therapists
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