By Duke Medicine News and Communications

The following memo was sent on Sept. 6 to the Duke Medicine community from Victor J. Dzau, MD, chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO, Duke University Health System, and William J. Fulkerson, MD, MBA, CEO, Duke University Hospital and vice president for acute care, Duke University Health System:

The National Institutes of Health has called on Duke Medicine to lend support in the disaster relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We have been asked to provide staffing for one of 40 field hospitals being set up in response to the disaster, and we are prepared to answer that call.

Monday afternoon, about 20 doctors, nurses and other clinicians from Duke Medicine left for Meridian, Mississippi, to help staff a U.S. government field hospital being established at Key Air Field, a National Guard post. The Duke team will serve under the direction of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This is the second medical relief effort in which Duke has been asked to participate.

At 3:00 P.M. Sunday, the first team of five nurses and technicians from Duke University Hospital and Durham Regional Hospital arrived in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, near Gulfport, as part of a larger contingent that brought a 100-bed mobile hospital to the stricken community. The Duke personnel are part of a 100-member medical team, drawn from hospitals and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agencies across North Carolina, that was dispatched to the disaster area Friday night.

A tragedy this great necessitates multifaceted action, and we are prepared to provide assistance here at home, within the walls of our own hospitals, and beyond. We are prepared to receive patients from the Gulf Coast. There is also a possibility that we will be asked to send more teams to staff field hospitals.

In preparation for possible, future deployments, if you are interested in volunteering for duty should Duke be asked to provide additional staffing, we ask that you register online: Duke Medicine Gulf Relief Volunteer Form. At this time, we are seeking only clinician volunteers, such as physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, radiology technicians, etc. It is important to note that only employees who serve as part of Duke teams will receive pay and benefit coverage for assisting in relief efforts. Those who volunteer for disaster relief through other organizations (e.g., American Red Cross, church, etc.) will not be covered by applicable Duke and federal policies for pay and benefits coverage. Employees interested in volunteering should coordinate requests with their managers. Actual assignment will be made based on clinical requirements in the area of need, need to maintain clinical services at Duke as well as individual experience, preparedness and skills. Completion of this registration in no way guarantees that you will be deployed. If your particular skills are needed, we will contact you directly.

We are committed to working with federal agencies and our colleagues from throughout the nation, to provide care to those affected by this unprecedented event in our country’s history. By working together, we can alleviate some of the suffering that has resulted from this tragedy.

It is with the deepest sincerity that we wish to thank the many staff and faculty who worked tirelessly over the holiday weekend to make this effort happen so quickly. Specifically, we thank the 25 deployed clinicians for their unwavering dedication and willingness to serve during this unprecedented tragedy.