George R. Brown Convention Center Medical Clinic
UT Health Science Center Family Steps Up to Help
Hurricane Katrina Evacuees
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HOUSTON – (Sept. 6, 2005) – University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston volunteers handled some 2,000 patient visits over the Labor Day weekend at its clinic for Hurricane Katrina evacuees operated in partnership with the City of Houston and Mayor Bill White in the George R. Brown Convention Center.
In a communication to all UT Health Science Center personnel issued late Monday, President James T. Willerson, M.D., said he has never been prouder of the faculty, staff and students he leads. “This response has been tremendous,” he said.
Organizers said 2,500 people–faculty, staff, students, residents, friends of the university and walk-ups–donated their time to help at the clinic over the holiday weekend.
“We have a wonderful group of medical personnel who are not just from Houston or from Texas, but from all over the country,” said Michael Bungo, M.D., associate dean for Harris County programs at the UT Medical School at Houston and chief of staff at LBJ Hospital. “We’ve had an outpouring of volunteerism. From a health-care standpoint, we’re meeting immediate needs, but this is going to be a long-term effort.”
Memorial Hermann Healthcare System collaborated with the health science center to offer a web-based volunteer scheduling system that greatly improved efficiency. See link at: Call Ends for Volunteers at George R. Brown :: Hurricane Katrina Response & Relief.
Bungo and many UT Health Science Center volunteers already were helping out at Reliant Center and the Astrodome last week when Bungo got a phone call early Friday: Would the university work with Mayor Bill White to organize and run a clinic at the convention center?
“We were up and running by 5 p.m.,” Bungo said. The health science center team pitched in as State Rep. Rick Noriega ( Dist. 145 ), tapped by Mayor Bill White to lead the effort coordinated a small army of vendors, city workers and volunteers to create a facility to house and care for up to 7,500 people. The first group of evacuees arrived around 11 p.m. Friday.
Clinic services include mental health, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology and trauma. A pharmacy and lab also are available.
Now that the immediate rush has eased, the convention center medical clinic now is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with only emergency care offered overnight.
The UT Dental Branch’s mobile dental van has also cared for patients in the convention center area. Tracey Godwin, D.D.S., coordinator of the dental van relief efforts, reported a steady flow of patients yesterday–many of whom have severe toothaches, abscesses, and quite a few who lost their dentures in the storm. The van is provided urgent care, mostly extractions and other methods of pain relief.
Carlos Moreno, M.D., professor and head of the UT Medical School Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine, said he was impressed by the survivors’ tranquility. “These people are calm. They’re glad to have someone taking care of them, and if they show up, we will take care of them.”
More than 4,000 evacuees were processed into the George R. Brown over the weekend, with about 2,000 staying at the center. Others had been reunited with family or found other housing.
The city’s new focus is to transition the survivors from shelters into private housing.
Mary desVignes-Kendrick, M.D., deputy director of the UT School of Public Health’s Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Preparedness, said the Rapid Needs Assessments–students and staff surveying physical and mental needs of evacuees–are going smoothly, and are important for two major reasons.
“The number one priority is monitoring public health needs, and the number two is establishing a human connection. If there is anyone who wants to talk, they’re talking,” said desVignes-Kendrick. The School of Public Health and the Student Epidemiology Intelligence Society (SEIS) already have assessed more than 3,000 evacuees at the Astrodome/Reliant Center.
Kristy Lillibridge, D.V.M., assistant professor of epidemiology at the UT School of Public Health, has been coordinating volunteer students, faculty and staff since last Thursday night at Reliant Center. The effort extended to the George R. Brown on Labor Day.
Lillibridge calls the needs assessments “cot surveys,” because SEIS volunteers are going from cot to cot in the temporary housing area, surveying Hurricane Katrina victims. SEIS will assess people daily to create a baseline, then monitor them for any health changes to prevent an outbreak of contagious illness. So far, Lillibridge said, they’re finding mostly stomach ailments like diarrhea and vomiting. All evacuees are experiencing some level of post-traumatic stress.
Texas Commissioner of State Health Services Eduardo J. Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., contacted the UT School of Public Health and was briefed on the public health situation by Scott Lillibridge, M.D., director of the school’s Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Preparedness.
Scott Lillibridge also reported that SPH faculty met with and briefed staff from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arriving in Houston to help local authorities. Calls are being made to other schools of public health in the southwest region to identify services and volunteers available to come to Houston.
Lillibridge noted that Michael Proctor, M.D., regional director of extramural training for the SPH center, assisted in the evacuation of patients from Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. Proctor reported that more than 7,000 patients had been moved over the last 24 hours to hospitals in Louisiana and other states. Proctor remains attached to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and will continue in his medical assessment and triage role for the near future.
By Melanie Hillis and Scott Merville
Media Contact: David Bates
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