YSM COMMUNICATIONS
[Oct. 5] Letter from Robert Alpern
[Sept. 8] Letter from Brian Leaderer [Sept. 7] Letter from David Leffell
[Sept. 2] Letter from Robert Alpern

HOW TO VOLUNTEER
-For Medical Faculty and Staff

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YALE UNIVERSITY
-Yale University Hurricane Assistance website

OTHER RESOURCES
-AAMC Katrina Page: Arrangements for displaced medical students and residents

Friday, Sept. 2

Dear Faculty, Students and Staff,

We are all gravely concerned about the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and many have asked how to help those affected by the storm and its aftermath, especially in New Orleans, where the situation is the most severe. I have been in contact with the deans of other medical schools and the leadership of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The following measures are being taken to provide relief for patients and assistance for medical students and residents displaced by the disaster:

1) Patients: A major effort is under way to coordinate care for people requiring medical assistance. This is a cooperative effort by the AAMC, the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association of the U.S., the Federation of American Hospitals, and the NIH Consultation Service, among other organizations. A newly-created Katrina response unit (www.hospitalreliefefforts.org) will coordinate the care of patients who will be transported to the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda and medical centers around the country. Transport is being provided by the U.S. Department of Defense. Our contact for this effort is Dr. David Leffell, Deputy Dean for Clinical Affairs.

2) Medical students: The AAMC is coordinating placement of third- and fourth-year medical students in clinical rotations at other medical schools. The Tulane School of Medicine and the medical campus of Louisiana State University (LSU) in New Orleans are located at the heart of the devastation, and their clinical operations are being evacuated. LSU expects classes to resume in several weeks in Baton Rouge, where there is a second LSU campus. Tulane University's leadership is reassembling in Houston. At Yale, our contact for the medical-student placement effort is Dr. Nancy Angoff, Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

3) Residents: Since hospitals in New Orleans are closed or being evacuated as of this writing, many residents training at those locations have been displaced as well. The American Council on Graduate Medical Education is coordinating the placement of residents in other programs. Our contact is Dr. Rosemarie Fisher, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education.

Our hearts go out to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by Katrina and the many thousands who are still suffering and at risk. As medical professionals, it is our duty and natural inclination to help in any way we can. There follows a list of websites to guide those of us who wish to make a contribution of money, time or talent.

Sincerely,
Dean Robert Alpern
Ensign Professor of Medicine