By Duke Medicine News and Communications

The following memo was sent on Sept. 16 to the Duke Medicine community from Victor J. Dzau, MD, chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO, Duke University Health System:

Duke is introducing a temporary program to support members of its community who seek to provide assistance to victims of Hurricane Katrina. The program allows employees to donate accrued vacation or paid time off to those who volunteer for organized disaster relief efforts or who support immediate family members affected by the hurricane.

Duke employees who have accrued vacation (University including School of Medicine and School of Nursing) or PTO (Duke University Health System) may donate hours in half-day (4 hour) or full-day (8 hour) increments to a general leave pool. In turn, employees who volunteer for organized disaster relief efforts may ask to be reimbursed from this pool for time they took off. They may be reimbursed for up to five days (40 hours) of vacation or PTO on an hour-for-hour basis, after they return.

Because Katrina’s impact will be felt for many months to come, the program will remain in effect through at least the end of the academic year.

Employees who would like to donate time should complete the appropriate form and send to Benefits, Box 90502, 705 Broad St., Durham, NC 27705, or fax to 681-8774. Employees who wish to request a donation from the hurricane relief pool should complete the form verifying that they took time off from work to volunteer locally or on the Gulf coast with a disaster relief agency, or to support an immediate family member affected by Katrina. Employees must be eligible to accrue vacation or PTO, and cannot be on leave or receiving disability or workers’ compensation payments. As with any vacation or PTO request, time off must be scheduled with the approval of a supervisor to ensure that departmental operating needs are met. The Human Resources website (www.hr.duke.edu) has the necessary forms.

More information about this program and Duke’s many other responses to the hurricane is available on its Hurricane Katrina website:

duke.edu/hurricanerelief