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 Dr. Norman McSwain
Media Links for Information
NAEMT Updates
PHTLS Family whom have returned home safely
Personnel Needed - URGENT
Supplies Needed
What has your experience been?
New Orleans, Louisiana played host to EMS Expo 2005, from August 23rd to 27th. On August 27th, NAEMT canceled their scheduled Awards Dinner to facilitate an expedient evacuation of conference attendees in face of the impending hurricane.
Will Chapleau has been contacting individuals that he knew had attended our meetings in order to confirm that they had gotten out without harm. Those whom have responded are listed below so that you can rest knowing that your PHTLS friends are safe.
Dr. McSwain, of course, lives in New Orleans and took station in his hospital to respond to the needs of the public. His notes are below, and we will chronicle his story along with the stories of others as we receive them.
Will Chapleau is working with NAEMSE to assist a response out of San Antonio, and is working to deploy fire equipment and supplies out of Chicago. Dr. Jeffrey Guy has been assembling response and equipment out of Tennessee. Assisting him are Will Chapleau, Dennis Rowe and Augie Bamonti. Your assistance is needed to push these efforts to where they are needed - political support, donations of equipment, personnel, money...it will all make a difference.
We will post information as we have it.
Thank you,
Mary-Ann
Dr. Norman McSwain
-2005, September 9th: Dr. McSwain's story in the New York Times
-2005,September 4th: Dr. McSwain and Merry arrive into Tennessee safely.
-2005, September 1st: Dr. McSwain is interviewed on MSNBC
-2005, August 28th:
snip< Ken Mattox suggested that a continuing log of the medical aspects of one of biggest storms in history is going to hit us in about 10 hours, I will try to keep you up to date. The eye is supposed to pass at about noon tomorrow. That will change the direction of the wind and the tidal surge. Now at 1430 hours, Katrina has sustained winds at 194 mph and the pressure is down to 903 mb. We are just beginning to feel the increase in winds as the feeder bands start to move in.
This is the lowest pressure of any storm since 1935. Camille was 908 mb when it hit the gulf coast. Water surge in the lake is predicted to be upwards of 25'. If that happens, we will have maybe 10' of water throughout the city.
I am now in Tulane Medical School (just across the street from Charity Hospital). Surgical staff and residents from both Tulane and LSU will be alternating care. Fortunately we are all good friends and work will together. Currently we have 5 surgical staff from the Tulane side in house. All of our chief residents are here as well. Plenty of food and hopefully enough water to last the next 4 days. Electricity will be out for a long time. When Hugo hit Charleston, some parts of that city were without power for 5 weeks. When Houston was hit at least two of the hospitals were closed for 2 years. Ken told me just a few minutes ago that he had the only two OR's working for several days. He can give y'all the details since he lived it.
Our pumping system (32 pumping stations) can handle on inch of water in the first hour and ½ inch each hour there after. The run off will take some of the water out as well but 10' in the city will be a lot and may take several days to clear. If the water in Lake Pontchartrain rises 25' it will go way over our protection. Most of the levies are 12-15 feet high. Fortunately, the Mississippi River is as low as I have seen it since I got here 28 years ago. Right now we are bored and sitting around, Tomorrow will not be bad since the winds and rain will not stop until late in the day. Tomorrow night, Tuesday and Wednesday should be a mess. Another good medical situation is that the entire area is under mandatory evacuation. Probable upwards of a million folks have left.
They will not be able to get back into town until perhaps Thursday. That will lighten our loads somewhat. Got to go find a place for the OR higher than the first floor but where we do have to carry patients too far in the stairwell
More Musings from New Orleans and Katrina as the hours progress
Norman>end snip
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Media Links for Information
-BBC
-CBC
-CNN
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PHTLS Family whom have returned home safely
There were many individuals from all over the world whom attended the EMS Expo conference in New Orleans. This is a listing of people that we've heard have made it out of New Orleans, or not:
-Brazil: Fernando Novo is home
-Canada: Greg Clarkes is home; Mary-Ann Clarkes is home
-France:
snip<From: LEVY Francis <francislevy68@yahoo.fr>
To: Will Chapleau <wchapleau@aol.com>; Norman Mac Swain
<norman.mcswain@tulane.edu>
Sent: Thu, 1 Sep 2005 19:03:47 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: News
Dear Will, Dear Professor Mac Swain,
Please give us some news, are you safe? Are miss Davie and her daughter safe? What about your nice house in the French quarter?
We just came home today 1/9. The French group and also Dr Pitteloud were blocked in the Airport sunday, we stay there and lived the Huricane with people who where refugie there and other tourists. Globaly it was safer than in town, but we had no electricty and the airport structures suffer also a lot. We had the opportunnity to help a little the staff of firemen and paramedic from the airport to etablish a field hospital there and we treate some casualities brought by the helicopters from the coast guards.It was more triage to see who needs hospital care or not. Thuesday evening a plane from American Airlines could come in, bringing physicians, paramedics and rescuers, and we fly out of New Orleans with this plane to Dallas where we had a connection to Altlanta and Zurich.
Please give us news, we all pray for you and hope the best.
Francis LEVY>end snip
-Netherlands: All Dutch delegates are now home.
-Norway: Aage Karlsen is home.
-Spain:
2005, Sept 3rd:
snip<Will,
We arrive home yesterday (friday). We left New Orleans on sunday just a few hours before Katrina. A man (now is a friend) took us in his car and we arrived to Monroe (small town close to Arkansas). We live for a couple of days in his girlfriend parent¨s house. Great people. You have a great country. I feel very sad for all the people in Louisiana and Mississippi. I have just send a message to french people, I am happy to know they are OK. We met Jeffrey Guy and I hope you are all OK.
Javier>end snip
-Switzerland: Jean-Cyrille Pitteloud is home.
-United States:
-EC Members: All EC Members arrived home safely
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Personnel needed
-2005, September 5th: Posted on all PHTLS Listservs by Augie Bamonti:
snip<Well PHTLS Responders, here is your chance to help! Drs. McSwain and Guy have set the #1 priority to provide relief to those EMS responders still working in New Orleans. Through their efforts in Nashville, EMS responders will be able to get into New Orleans in an organized manner to assist where needed. We will need approximately 2000 responders. Interested responders must get to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on their own to be deployed. Contacts in Baton Rouge have told us they NEED responders. So the sooner we can begin sending them numbers, etc, the sooner the help will arrive.
To apply send an email to: PHTLSHELP1@aol.com and please include the following:
A) Your Name
B) Level of training
C) Contact information (address, city, state, phone, etc.)
D) Your availability for deployment: Immediate to 3 days, 4 days to one week, more than one week.
E) The length of time you can be deployed.
F) Have you met the recommendations listed below for deployment?
Also, is there a stocked ambulance from your squad that could also be deployed? In order to be deployed, it is strongly recommended that each responder:
1) Possess and present a current State EMS License
2) Present with a valid Driver?s License or State photo I.D.
If you wish to become a member of the Middle Tennessee Medical Reserve Corps, you can immediately join by going to [http://www.mtmrc.org/member/index.php] If federalization does not exist currently in New Orleans, it will be available through MTMRC.
PLEASE, PLEASE!! Do NOT apply if you cannot commit to this endeavor. We are under a severe time constraint and must act quickly. Also, please do not go Baton Rouge until you have responded to the PHTLSHELP address and we have advised you when to go. You will be notified as quickly as possible.
Thank you
Augie Bamonti>end snip
-2005, September 3rd:
snip<From: James Berry [mailto:jberry20@comcast.net]
Sent: Sat 9/3/2005 5:22 PM
To: ljlancaste@aol.com
Subject: recruiting
Colleagues:
The Middle Tennessee Medical Reserve Corps (based at VUMC) has been
asked to provide medical assistance to physicians working on the Gulf
Coast in the wake of hurricane Katrina.
Physicians in all specialties are needed for 2-week tours to relieve and
reinforce existing personnel.
We are forming medical teams now to begin this process.
If interested, please provide your information at the website:
http://www.mtmrc.org/member/index.php
As well, we will need copies of your drivers license and medical
license, as well as a signed release and a brief CV (see attachment)
These can be faxed to 615-936-5828 or emailed to
stephen.guillot@vanderbilt.edu
Your supervisor/chair must obviously consent, as VUMC will be taking
additional patients from the disaster.
Thank you>end snip
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Supplies needed
We are working on coordinating a revolving deployment out of Vanderbilt in Nashville to the Hurricane relief. Dr. Guy is looking for equipment. If any of you have access to equipment...or have vendors that can help, please do. [Equipment List]
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