U.S. Department of Health & Human Services |
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Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America |
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News Release
HHS Delivering Medical Care to Help Evacuees and VictimsHHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today declared a federal public health emergency and accelerated efforts to create up to 40 emergency medical shelters to provide care for evacuees and victims of Hurricane Katrina. Working with its federal partners, HHS is helping provide and staff 250 beds in each shelter for a total of 10,000 beds for the region. Ten of these facilities will be staged within the next 72 hours and another 10 will be deployed within the next 100 hours after that. In addition, HHS is deploying up to 4,000 medically-qualified personnel to staff these facilities and to meet other health care needs in this region. Already, HHS has helped set up a medical shelter with up to 250 beds at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge to help provide health care for those fleeing New Orleans in Katrina�s wake. As of late this morning, the facility had already screened 300 patients and admitting 45 for in-patient care. HHS and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also are providing the region with public health personnel and expertise to address the potential for disease outbreak in the aftermath of Katrina. �We�re delivering medical supplies, facilities and professionals into the Gulf Region to provide health care to those evacuating from New Orleans as well as victims of the hurricane throughout the region,� Secretary Leavitt said. �We�re focused on the immediate health care needs of people in the region, augmenting state and local efforts. And we�re also preparing for public health challenges that may emerge such as disease and contamination. �Our thoughts and prayers go out to all our fellow Americans who have been affected by this hurricane,� Secretary Leavitt added. �Recovery will take time, and the road ahead will not be easy. But all of us at the Department of Health and Human Services � with our health partners � will do everything we can for as long as it takes to help protect the health and well-being of those impacted.� An order was signed by the Secretary today to declare a public health emergency for the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. This action will allow the Department to waive certain Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP and HIPAA requirements as well as make grants and enter into contracts more expeditiously during this emergency. Secretary Leavitt emphasized that HHS is making available all its public health and emergency response capabilities to help state and local officials provide care and assistance to victims of this hurricane. �We all need to come together and help our neighbors in this time of need. We are asking Americans to help spread the word to both neighbors and strangers about public health warnings or directives from emergency response officials so we can reach as many people as possible. Together, we will get through this and help the people of the Gulf region rebuild their lives and their communities,� Secretary Leavitt added. To date, the Department has taken the following steps to address this emergency: HHS has delivered to Louisiana 27 pallets of medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile.
HHS has identified available hospital beds and provided health care professionals
HHS has public health experts working with states in the Gulf Region to help assess threats to public health and develop pro-active responses to prevent the spread of disease and illness.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
Last revised: September 2, 2005