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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2004

Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343

HHS Deploys More Than 450 Health Workers to Aid Hurricane Victims

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today the deployment of emergency medical personnel to the Southeastern United States to provide assistance to communities and families in Hurricane Ivan's path.

HHS is working with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal partners to send 150 public health and medical professionals to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi to provide care and assistance should Hurricane Ivan hit those states. Many of these workers helped Florida residents during Hurricanes Charley and Frances.

"We are monitoring Hurricane Ivan day and night and are ready to send emergency and longer term medical assistance to any community hit by this latest storm," Secretary Thompson said. "Our 150 disaster response professionals stand ready to help these communities in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ivan."

The latest deployment to Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana will include 10 teams of 12 health care professionals made up of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. In addition, the Secretary's Emergency Response Team (SERT) and other logistical support will be on site to help assess long term needs.

As part of President Bush's $3.1 million supplemental aid request for hurricane-damaged areas, HHS is seeking $50 million to provide assistance to those areas in greatest need. This supplemental funding would help provide nutritional, medical and social services to affected individuals.

Over the past month, Secretary Thompson has deployed 451 officers of U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps to support the emergency and medical needs of the victims of the storms. The Commissioned Corps is the uniformed service specifically designed to provide medical and public health care and assistance to Americans. Secretary Thompson has worked to make the 6,000-member corps more flexible and adept to handle emergency medical needs.

Also, the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) response to these natural disasters is by far the most coordinated effort in the history of the Corps. To date, 23 MRCs units, consisting of more than 400 volunteers have been activated.

  • Nine MRCs from various parts of the country have been deployed by FEMA to support their efforts in local communities.
  • Eight others have submitted rosters to FEMA, and are waiting deployment, which may come during Hurricane Ivan.
  • Several Florida-based MRCs have members assisting in special needs and Red Cross shelters. Some also augmented hospital staffs during critical shortage periods.
  • The Mississippi MRC is responding to a call from the American Red Cross to assist in their shelters. They are deploying eight medical doctors, over 100 support personnel, and their communications unit.

The MRC is the medical component of President Bush's USA Freedom Corps Initiative. After the outpouring of support in the wake of Sept. 11, President Bush called on citizens to volunteer in their own communities setting up Citizen Corps volunteer programs. To date there are more than 27,500 volunteers among 212 MRC units across the country.

"The American people recognize that natural disasters are unavoidable and that in times of need, we all pitch in," Secretary Thompson said. "I look forward to Congress approving President Bush's request so that we can continue to provide the services that the people affected by these storms need."

The $50 million will help provide nutritional, medical and social services to affected elderly individuals; provide social services support to communities most affected by the hurricane; make available counseling services; support an increase in demand for unreimbursed health care; and restore community health centers in the impacted areas.

HHS officials also are taking the following steps to respond to the hurricanes:

  • Maintaining contact with state health officials, hospitals, health centers and nursing homes to provide assistance with storm damage or emergency health needs.
  • Monitoring blood centers' supply and taking necessary steps to ensure the safety of the blood supply.
  • Working with state and local governments and the private sector to protect the food and water supplies. HHS is working to make sure contaminated food or crops do not make it into the food supply, as well as help ensure the quality of water supplies. HHS also is working where required to ensure public health in the wake of any flood or sewage backups.
  • Providing mental health services to communities, schools and individuals, as necessary.

After Hurricane Charley last month, Secretary Thompson visited storm-damaged areas and announced that HHS was making more than $11 million available to support Florida families. That money included $1 million to assist DeSoto County Hospital and Osceola Regional Hospital; a $200,000 emergency grant to help provide meals, shelter and services to elderly residents; and up to $10 million in emergency one-time grants to Head Start and Early Head Start centers. Secretary Thompson said that HHS is working to assess damage from Hurricane Frances before announcing new grants and said that any unused money from Hurricane Charley also will be available to victims of Hurricane Frances.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: September 16, 2004

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