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Monday, September 05, 2005They came to Texas after a call from Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, who was pleading for medical backup as soon as she got word that Katrina evacuees were headed in her direction. Mary Hudac, spokeswoman for FEMA in Atlanta, said Sunday that the Georgia team and others have been caught in a situation where needs changed. Either local resources have become available, the need has diminished or some other outside group has arrived such as private groups of doctors and nurses who work outside of the government's coordination, Hudac said. "We know that the Georgia medical professionals desperately want to contribute. ... There is still tremendous requirement for the resources that the Georgia team brings, and we are sure there will be a venue for their expertise," Hudac said. Georgia Team Commander Judy Edwards had been told by FEMA officials to expect between 10,000 and 14,000 refugees at Reunion Arena that had not seen a doctor, nurse or pharmacist for days. What she found on Sunday morning was about 300 evacuees at Reunion and about 4,000 evacuees at the nearby Convention Center. And at the Convention Center, county officials, along with local hospitals, had set up a state-of-the-art medical facility with separate areas for pediatrics and emergency care. "It was beautiful in there," said Mark Spradlin, who is in charge of logistics and planning for the Georgia team. "If they had shut down and we had moved in, the level of medical care would have gone down." Late Sunday night, they awaited a FEMA official to come and survey the medical needs situation in Dallas himself, to determine if they should go elsewhere. (via Instapundit.) posted by Sydney on 9/05/2005 11:44:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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