For Immediate Release

Washington D.C., September 12, 2001-Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., president of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), issued the following statement in support of hospitals and health professionals following yesterday's terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon:

"Nothing, absolutely nothing, can even begin to diminish the inexpressible horror that befell our country and whole world yesterday. But literally within minutes of seeing those first indelible images on television, we began to hear about the hundreds and thousands of health care personnel who were voluntarily rushing to the aid of the victims. In the midst of this unprecedented tragedy, we can at least recognize how dedicated and responsive health professionals are when our fellow human beings are in need. The scenes of New York's hospitals having been converted to battlefield trauma units reminded us all of the health professions' most deeply rooted commitment to serving the public.

The nation's teaching hospitals and medical schools provide the majority of the country's burn units, trauma centers, ICU beds and dialysis units. These facilities in the New York and Washington areas are likely to be strained far beyond capacity. And we can anticipate that the need for nurses, counselors, therapists, rehabilitation specialists, and many other health care professionals will exceed regional capacity for some time to come.

I know all of us are eager to assist in the recovery efforts, and we encourage all institutions to offer whatever help they can while remaining alert to requests from FEMA and other government agencies for supplies, personnel, patient transfers and the like.

The AAMC salutes all of you for what you have done and will do in this time of national need. Let us use this unspeakable event as a spur to be even more determined to contribute through our work to fraternity and peace worldwide."

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The Association of American Medical Colleges represents the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools; the 16 accredited Canadian medical schools; some 400 major teaching hospitals, including 74 Veterans Administration medical centers; 91 academic and professional societies representing over 100,000 faculty members; and the nation's 67,000 medical students and 102,000 residents.

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