News Releases for October 2005
October 10, 2005
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North Dakota Medical Team Headed To Louisiana
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today announced a team of North Dakota health care professionals will provide emergency triage and treatment to survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“On very short notice, this medical team mobilized quickly in response to the needs of staff members at CHRISTUS St. Patrick’s Hospital where operations were disrupted by Hurricane Rita,” Hoeven said.
Team members include physicians Mohamed Rhaman, an internal medicine specialist from MeritCare Hospital, and Michael Briggs, internal medicine specialist and pulmonary disease specialist, Dakota Clinic Innovis Health; and nurses Amy Vogt and Merilee Bainbridge, Dakota Clinic Innovis Health of Fargo; Jeannie Bjore of Prairie St. John’s of Fargo; and Mary Scott, Alice Robinson and Sheila Geffre of St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck.
The group expects to treat approximately 150 patients a day while hospital staff prepare for reopening, tentatively scheduled for October 14. The North Dakota team will replace a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) dispatched to Lake Charles by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“The expertise of these individuals will prove essential to St. Patrick’s,” said Dr. Terry Dwelle, State Health Officer. “Their assistance will allow the time necessary to properly return systems to normal function and capacity.”
The State Operations Center at the Department of Emergency Services (DES) received notification late Saturday afternoon that a medical team was needed. DES staff worked with Tim Wiedrich, the N.D. Department of Health (DoH) Emergency Preparedness and Response Section Chief, who coordinated efforts to assemble the team.
“North Dakota is continuing to provide response and recovery resources for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Susan Reinertson, director of North Dakota’s Division of Homeland Security. “This deployment of private resources demonstrates we can depend upon our communities to step forward and deliver critical services during times of crisis.”
The request originated through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), an interstate compact that coordinates resource requests and processes nationwide offers of assistance to help hurricane impacted states.
For more information about EMAC, visit the website at www.emacweb.org. Information on organizations accepting donated services, resources or funds can be found on the DES Web site.
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