AAMC Reporter: October 2005

Shelter from the Storm

By Jordan J. Cohen, M.D.
AAMC President

One word, "OPEN," spelled out on the roof of New Orleans' Ochsner Clinic, said it all. In the midst of the worst natural disaster this nation has ever experienced, Ochsner, Tulane University Hospital, Charity Hospital, University of South Alabama Medical Center, and the other major teaching hospitals in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast continued to operate.

The health care workers who stayed behind to care for the sick, the elderly, and the citizens who had nowhere else to turn when the ocean surged and the levees broke were tested beyond all bounds. Many described it as hell on earth. Yet they made every effort humanly possible to save lives—even when their own lives were in danger.

Their selfless dedication and commitment were matched by their colleagues at academic medical institutions across the country. As the affected areas were evacuated, they stood ready to help in any way they could. They opened their schools, their hospitals, their homes, and their hearts to hundreds of displaced patients and teaching hospital personnel, residents, students, and medical school faculty and staff. In the days following the storm, the AAMC received more than 250 offers of aid from its members. In addition, nearly 200 COTH members volunteered to send patient care teams to the area.

The outpouring of assistance from the academic medicine community has been truly spectacular. The AAMC has tried hard to support the effort by serving as a centralized information resource for our members, as well as for the students, residents, and faculty who are struggling to put their lives back together. We will continue to provide updates and information on our Web site for as long as necessary.

The public health crisis confronting our country now raises additional challenges of enormous scope. What lies before us are more uncharted waters. As we face this new and different storm, the AAMC stands ready to assist our members during the difficult months ahead.

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