(left to right) Survivors of
Hurricane Katrina, photo by Marvin Nauman,
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); HHS
Secretary Mike Leavitt at the Secretary's Operations
Center, photo by Chris Smith; debriefing
at the SAMHSA Emergency Response Center, photo
by Martin Castillo, SAMHSA News.
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By Jon Bowen and Meredith Hogan Pond
Part 1
In towns and cities along the Gulf Coast, survivors and first responders
alike continue to show resilience and courage as they face the day-to-day
reality of their devastated environment as best they can 3 months
after Hurricane Katrina.
November and December may bring relief from the 100-degree heat
and humidity of September and October, but for families still living
in tents or other temporary shelters, a chill in the air is not
a welcome change.
"Tens of thousands of people still require a place to live
right now," said Cynthia K. Hansen, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist
and American Psychological Association Health Policy Fellow at SAMHSA's
Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS).
In late October, Dr. Hansen led a multidisciplinary team of Federal
employees and contractors deployed by the SAMHSA Emergency Response
Center (SERC) to several towns along the Mississippi coastline.
Those towns included Pearlington, Waveland, and Pass Christian.
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Survivors get help, photo by Marvin
Nauman, FEMA
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As a Deputy Incident Commander in the SERC, Dr. Hansen
had heard about the serious need for crisis counseling
teams along the Gulf Coast. But it was different to witness
that need herself.
"We were staffing a free medical clinic next door to a school
in Pass Christian where about 85 percent of the teachers were homeless
because of the storm. But they were at school teaching the children,"
said Dr. Hansen in an interview from the field. "And about
20 percent of the staff at the local community mental health centers
are living in temporary shelters and still coming in to work every
day to see their clients—adults with serious mental illnesses
and children with serious emotional disturbances. The compassion
and commitment of this local community is absolutely stunning."
Local police officers, firefighters, and other emergency personnel,
as well as those working in shelters, clinics, and resource centers,
are facing incredible odds to provide adequate services to people
in need.
To help, every day SAMHSA staff members join the volunteer teams
including psychiatrists, mental health and substance abuse counselors,
physicians, nurses, and others wearing the SERC's easily recognizable
orange T-shirts and SAMHSA caps.
"Many first responders we talked to had been injured themselves,
and they were doing heroic work—working through their personal
needs to provide services," said the SERC's Incident Commander
Brenda Bruun, Special Assistant to the Director of the Division
of Prevention, Traumatic Stress, and Special Programs within CMHS.
"They were working under horrible physical conditions to provide
continuity of services and care."
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SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie listens
to a first responder from the New Orleans Police Department,
photo by SAMHSA's Kana Enomoto
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In New Orleans, hundreds of first responders and their
children have been living onboard anchored cruise ships
for months. They are dealing not only with the critical
needs of others, but also their own personal trauma.
Like most of the other survivors, first responders lost
their homes, and many lost loved ones and even members
of their immediate family. "We're working with the
State of Louisiana on what services those families need
and how they can be cared for," Ms. Bruun said.
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SAMHSA's Role in Recovery
As the SERC coordinated deployments to the Gulf Coast, Dan Dodgen,
Ph.D., SAMHSA's Emergency Management Coordinator, served as the
liaison between the Agency and the Secretary's Operations Command
at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Dodgen's
job was to coordinate SAMHSA's efforts with the efforts of all other
HHS operating divisions, specifically with the team from Public
Health Emergency Preparedness.
As an ongoing responsibility, HHS has asked SAMHSA
to address behavioral health factors—including
mental health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention—in
preparedness, response, and recovery efforts for all
natural and human-made disasters that occur across the
Nation. The Agency provides grants, services, and technical
assistance to states and tribal organizations in planning
for and providing outreach, crisis counseling, and referral
services, as well as planning for long-term recovery.
SAMHSA also deploys personnel to staff interagency emergency
operations centers.
In addition, SAMHSA's Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC)
trains state mental health staff to perform outreach and education
on reducing stress and to maintain a contact database of state/territory
mental health commissioners, substance abuse directors, and disaster
coordinators.
"Now we're switching from an emergency response focus to
a long-term recovery focus," said Dr. Dodgen. "And we're
thinking, how do we restore people's lives and create long-term
care?"
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In the SERC
The hum of activity filled the SERC from the beginning, August
31—48 hours after Katrina struck—until October 21, when
assignments shifted to individual desks. At that time, the Operations
Room was cleared of maps, charts, bulletin boards, and daily briefing
notices. "I couldn't get people in the SERC to take a break,"
said Ms. Bruun, "because they were so committed to seeing people
get the services they need."
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Incident Commander Brenda Bruun begins a debriefing in the SAMHSA Emergency Response Center
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One of the important lessons learned from operations at the SERC
is how the entire Agency needs to be educated in emergency response,
according to Ms. Bruun. "We all need to know where SAMHSA fits
into the national response plan and what our mission is in the response
to a disaster. We need to make sure our constituencies understand
what we do."
SAMHSA's Emergency Response Center was built on the Incident Command
System (ICS), an emergency response management structure designed
to streamline response activities by fostering a fluid decision-making
process and avoiding duplication of efforts.
"The streamlining happens because each function within ICS
has authority to make decisions on behalf of the Agency," said
Ms. Bruun.
Responsible for all of the SERC's operational decisions, Ms. Bruun
had under her command seven functions staffed by various SAMHSA
volunteer personnel on a rotating basis. Each of the functions—planning,
logistics, finance, personnel, public information, reporting, and
recording—had a distinct task. And each function was responsible
for daily decisions affecting people in the Gulf Coast region.
"The planning team looked at the kinds of resources that
could be applied to common issues," Ms. Bruun explained. "For
example, the evacuated kids from Louisiana were showing up in new
school districts, some of which were in other states. Also, administrators
in those districts wanted to know how to address trauma issues.
So planners worked on a coordinated strategy to provide training
and technical assistance for trauma training."
Most phone calls to the SERC came from state authorities looking
for resources, and Gulf Coast states were not the only ones looking
for assistance. "All 50 states are taking evacuees and serving
those evacuees," Ms. Bruun added. "And they're also serving
their existing populations. It's a huge job."
See
Also-Article Continued: Part 2 »
See
Also-Administrator's Message »
See
Also-First-Person Accounts »
See
Also-Resources »
See
Also-Children's Trauma Network »
See
Also-Methadone, Buprenorphine »
See
Also-Estimates of Substance Use in Affected States »
See Also—Next
Article »
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