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medpundit |
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Sunday, September 04, 2005HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today that the first ten Federal Medical Shelters (FMCs) will be located at Department of Defense (DoD) facilities throughout the Gulf region to provide basic health care services for Hurricane Katrina victims. Additionally, Secretary Leavitt noted that nearly 100 tons in vital medications and supplies have been shipped since last weekend and currently are being distributed. For example, a 12-hour Push Package was delivered to Mississippi this morning that contained a broad spectrum of medical supplies and 100,000 doses of antibiotics. ?The health care needs in the region are immense, and we are working as quickly as we can to get the medical care and supplies to the people who so desperately need them,? Secretary Leavitt said. ?These facilities augment the medical services being provided and nearly 100 tons of supplies this Department has shipped already to the Gulf region. Additional shelters we will open in the coming days.? The first ten shelters will be located at Fort Polk, La. (4 Federal Medical Shelters); Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (2 Federal Medical Shelters); Meridian Naval Air Station, Miss. (2 Federal Medical Shelters); and Mississippi National Air Guard Facility (2 Federal Medical Shelters). Each shelter has a 250-bed capacity, and HHS will provide the equipment and supplies needed to support each shelter. Up to 40 medical shelters will be created. Five hundred US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers are traveling over Friday night to the medical shelters. Each shelter will require three large semi-trucks of equipment and supplies. HHS, DoD, the Department of Veterans? Affairs, and the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) will staff the shelters with the necessary healthcare and support personnel. Each shelter will require a staff of 150. posted by Sydney on 9/04/2005 08:29:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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