Dean Fischbach Addresses Cumc Response To Hurricane Katrina

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

We have all been touched by the images and stories of those affected by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The recovery from this catastrophic event will take the support and compassion of our entire national and international community. We are proud to tell you about the ways that Columbia University Medical Center is helping to rebuild the lives of these devastated families and communities.

First, our schools, P&S, Mailman, SDOS and Nursing have opened their doors to displaced students from Tulane and other affected schools in the Gulf Region.

Spearheaded by Dr. Lisa Mellman, Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs, P&S has joined the Association of American Medical College’s (AAMC) coordinated national effort to address the needs of the affected schools and offers made to provide assistance. We have communicated both directly and through the AAMC an offer to absorb some of the displaced medical students in each of the four years. We are waiting to hear from them and the AAMC about whether non-Houston area schools, including P&S, will be involved in taking students.

The Mailman School and the Children’s Health Fund have launched “Operation Assist,” which has already put mobile medical units in the affected areas to provide emergency services to children and families in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. The founders of Children’s Health Fund, Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Mailman and music legend Paul Simon, traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi on Labor Day to survey the devastation and to meet the medical units. To learn more about this important program and how you can support their efforts, view a press release.

The Mailman School, in coordination with the Association of Schools of Public Health, is working to accommodate up to 30 public health students from Tulane and Louisiana State University to take fall-term classes as special students. The Mailman School has already been in touch with 33 potential students. The Mailman School has also had an overwhelming response from faculty, staff, and friends who have volunteered to provide temporary housing for these students, if needed.

The School of Dental and Oral Surgery has generously offered to help train Louisiana State University (LSU) postdoctoral dental students/residents. Additionally, the SDOS student government is spearheading an effort, led by each class president, to reach out to SDOS students, faculty and friends to raise money for the American Red Cross. Kristine Gebbie, DrPH, director of the School of Nursing's Center for Health Policy, is coordinating national efforts for nursing volunteers in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Joan Valas, MS, ANP, staff member of the School of Nursing's Center for Health Policy, has been mobilized through the Disaster Medical Assistance Team to Biloxi, Miss. The School has opened its classes to nursing students from the gulf area schools as well as non-nurses who could take seven of the school's science and policy classes for transfer for either undergraduate or graduate credits. The School of Nursing has also contacted its alumni in all three states to offer assistance and support.

Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the national relief effort can consult the organizations listed below for various ways to do so:

Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov/ American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/ Salvation Army: http://www.salvationarmy.org/

Additionally, a Katrina Relief Fund has been established at Columbia to assist families of Columbia students, faculty, and staff who are in distress. We invite those who wish to contribute to send their donations to: The Office of the University Chaplain, W710 Lerner Hall, 2920 Broadway, Mail Code 2008, New York, NY 10027. Checks should be made payable to Columbia University and indicate Attn: Katrina Relief Fund. We also invite anyone who knows of Columbia families in need in the disaster area to let us know who they are and how to reach them. Again, this information should be sent to the Office of the University Chaplain. If we raise money beyond the needs of these families, we will contribute the surplus to one of the major national relief agencies.

For more on Columbia University's response to Hurricane Katrina, click here. We will continue to keep you updated about Columbia’s efforts to help the Hurricane Katrina survivors. We and New York-Presbyterian Hospital may partner in providing emergency medical assistance for survivors, coordinated through FEMA and local hospital organizations. Please be sure to keep Dr. Ron Drusin apprised of further activities. He will be coordinating medical center involvements for my office.

Thank you for your help – it is greatly needed and sincerely appreciated.

Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D. Executive Vice President Columbia University Medical Center

Tags

AAMC, Columbia University, Hurricane Katrina, SDOS