Press Room: Press Releases

Critical Care Volunteers Mobilizing to Treat Survivors of Hurricane Katrina

(Des Plaines, Ill., September 2, 2005) - The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) will provide the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with a database of professional critical care specialists who are prepared to treat the people affected by Hurricane Katrina. The SCCM leadership and staff have been in contact with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and they have determined that there now is a specific need for volunteer critical care services from the SCCM membership.

This database contains the names and contact information of SCCM members from a variety of critical care-related fields who are prepared to serve as medical relief workers. "Our members are familiar with the equipment, supplies and devices the federal response agencies are coordinating," says SCCM President Peter B. Angood, MD, FCCM. Society members include intensive care physicians, critical care nurses, critical care pharmacists, clinical pharmacologists, respiratory care practitioners and other professionals with an interest and experience in critical care, including physician assistants, social workers, dieticians as well as members of the clergy.

"Many victims are in a life-or-death situation, and their best chance for survival is immediate treatment from trained critical care specialists," Dr. Angood continues. "The SCCM leadership and staff join the rest of the world in providing comfort, care and hope to all at risk and aiding all who have been injured. As critical care professionals, it is an honor to commit our resources and knowledge to benefit others in their time of need," Dr. Angood concludes.

Specifically, the NIH has been asked to support the response efforts by providing staff support for a 250-bed field hospital to be deployed close to the disaster site-potentially at Fort Polk in Louisiana ( http://www.jrtc-polk.army.mil/drive.htm <http://www.jrtc-polk.army.mil/drive.htm>). This 250-bed field hospital will be staffed by NIH volunteers, but there are specific needs for additional SCCM members in the areas of anesthesiology, nursing, pharmacy, and respiratory therapy. NIH is asking for SCCM volunteers from these disciplines for this deployment. Interested individuals must realize that this is a two-week, voluntary commitment. In order for the NIH to utilize the generous voluntary services, individuals will need to be 1) a citizen of the United States; 2) available for a two-week commitment; and 3) immunized against hepatitis A, hepatitis B and diphtheria and tetanus.

The Society of Critical Care Medicine is the leading professional organization dedicated to ensuring excellence and consistency in the practice of critical care medicine. With nearly 13,000 members worldwide, the Society is the only professional organization devoted exclusively to the advancement of multiprofessional intensive care through excellence in patient care, professional education, public education, research and advocacy. Members of the Society include intensivists, critical care nurses, critical care pharmacists, clinical pharmacologists, respiratory care practitioners and other professionals with an interest in critical care, which may include physician assistants, social workers, dieticians, and members of the clergy.

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For more information, contact Elaine Salewske at +1 847 827-7095 or esalewske@sccm.org.