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The overwhelming BWH response to the call for volunteers and employee contributions to the American Red Cross (ARC) Hurricane Katrina relief efforts included a staff-led fundraising drive that collected $12,500 in the hospital and the Department of Emergency Medicine deployment of 22 Longwood Medical Area care providers to the Gulf area and ARC headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“The BWH community's ongoing response to this national catastrophe is inspiring. BWH has demonstrated a heartfelt generosity and an earnest willingness to help our neighbors in need,” BWH President Gary Gottlieb said.
One such inspirational effort came from Susan Bartels, MD, a fellow in International Emergency Medicine, who returned to BWH Monday after a week of assessing Gulf residents seeking shelter, food and medical care in the Baton Rouge area.
“We surveyed evacuees and staff at 18 different shelters,” said Bartels, who was part of a team assessing mental health of the evacuees as countless patients with psychiatric illnesses were without medication while dealing with the sudden loss of their homes and possibly family members.
“We interviewed evacuees and shelter staff, some of whom had lost their homes and family members and now were trying to run a shelter,” Bartels said. “There are so many amazing stories about these people, their resilience and strength.”
Emergency Medicine Vice Chair Richard Zane, MD, and the department's Michael VanRooyen, Hilarie Cranmer, Jennifer Leaning, Christian Arbelaez, Jennifer Chan, Tom Stair and Gregg Greenough, who joined BWH this month, also are playing pivotal roles in planning and coordinating the ARC response, assessing immediate and long-term health needs of the displaced population and readying for Gulf patients coming to Massachusetts.