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Minnesota's Public Health Response to Hurricane Katrina
Help is available – from many sources – for survivors of Hurricane Katrina who have come to Minnesota. A variety of tools and resources are available for health care and emergency response professionals who are working with survivors, and many opportunities are available for professionals who wish to serve as volunteers in the health response to Katrina.
"We've launched two new search features designed specifically for finding information about Hurricane Katrina. You can search on any keyword using Katrina Search and get back results only from Hurricane Katrina-related web pages. Katrina People Search accesses several public databases to help you find info on friends or family members who may have been affected by the storm."
Message from Interim Dean John Finnegan, Jr.
The events of the past week in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast temper
our joy in a new semester, yet magnify for us the importance of public
health. Amid this tragedy, we are reaffirming our commitment to do the
best that we can in our respective roles and responsibilities.
Many of our faculty, staff and students are part of the national Medical Reserve Corps
network that is deploying volunteers to assist with the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina. Also, the SPH is part of the network of
schools of public health nationwide that has agreed to help students of
the Tulane School of Public Health, which is closed for the semester
because of the disaster. Click here to get more information about our efforts. Click here to find out how you can help.
Minnesota Volunteers - 63 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota are currently on the scene in Louisiana, Mississippi and other states affected by the disaster. We anticipate that another 109 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota will be dispatched in the coming weeks.
Minnesota Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles - Four Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) from Minnesota have been dispatched to Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, including the ERV from the Minneapolis Area Chapter. Our volunteers are delivering food, water and other assistance to victims.
Survivors – The American Red Cross has provided shelter for more than 207,000 survivors.
Shelters – More than 700 Red Cross shelters are open in 24 states. The Red Cross also is coordinating the mass sheltering operation at the Houston Astrodome (along with other agencies), and is working with local partners to find additional facilities in which thousands of evacuees will find a safe, clean and comfortable environment.
Emergency Vehicles – More than 270 Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) are now in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with additional ERVs en route to the affected areas, to conduct food distribution. We are working to engage additional vehicles for food distribution to survivors.
Relief Workers – Thousands of Red Cross staff and volunteers across the country and from every part of the organization are working around the clock to serve the public need. More than 74,000 Red Cross disaster relief workers have responded so far.
Feeding – The Red Cross is working closely with several partners, including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Adventists and Second Harvest to provide emergency food to survivors and responders. More than 7.6 million hot meals and 6.6 million snacks have been served to survivors of Hurricane Katrina to-date.
Health & Preventative Care – The Red Cross is working with government and health services partners to develop health strategies and preventative measures to help the public and relief workers cope with the serious public health emergency.
Reuniting Families - The Red Cross, with support of the worldwide Red Cross Movement, has launched a Web site and hotline to help reunite loved ones. Persons looking for loved ones can go to www.redcross.org and click on “Family Links Registry” to register yourself, a missing relative or view the existing list of registrants. Those who do not have Internet access should call toll-free 1-877-LOVED-1S (1-877-568-3317).
STORM AID: MINNESOTA’S RIVER OF RELIEF
Minnesota Radio Stations join together to Help the American Red Cross support the victims of Hurricane Katrina; $867,596 raised for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund
On Friday morning, September 9, 2005, over 30 radio stations across the State of Minnesota joined together to broadcast live from 5 a.m. until Noon.
Many of the stations had their morning show personalities broadcasting live from the Washington Avenue Bridge in downtown Minneapolis. The Washington Avenue Bridge spans the Mississippi River, connecting the east and west banks of the University of Minnesota.
Dan Seeman, Vice President/General Manager of Minnesota Clear Channel Radio Stations says “Because of the connecting tie of the Mississippi River, there is a strong emotional connection between the people in Minnesota and the people affected down the river in the hurricane-ravaged parts of the South.”
Jim du Bois, President/CEO of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association says, “The radio stations across the State of Minnesota joined together in an effort to provide a clear and unified voice. We wanted to help our listeners be a part of supporting the victims of Hurricane Katrina through the efforts of the Red Cross. We are all thrilled to be a part of providing one clear message of how Minnesotan’s can reach out and help those devastated by this horrendous disaster and make a difference.”
Steve Woodbury, VP/General Manager of Radio One says, “This was the first time since the Grand Forks flood of 1997 that Twin Cities radio broadcasters worked together to support a united relief effort and we think it’s wonderful.”
During the Friday broadcasts, listeners heard a wide variety of interviews from victims, experts from the American Red Cross, the University of Minnesota and more.
An e-commerce website and phone lines were also provided for listeners to make a financial donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund during the live broadcast time period.
Hurricane Katrina: How You Can Help
The American Red Cross has launched an immense emergency relief effort to meet unprecedented humanitarian needs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
In times of disaster, the American Red Cross immediately mobilizes workers and supplies to address the urgent, critical needs of disaster victims, which include providing emergency shelter, food, water, counseling and other assistance. The Red Cross response to Hurricane Katrina is the largest response to a single, natural disaster in the 125-year history of the organization.
The best way to help victims of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters is to make a contribution to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or visit www.redcross.org
Volunteers
The Red Cross is currently recruiting new disaster relief volunteers who can take three weeks off to volunteer in the Gulf Coast. All volunteers will go through extensive training and background checks, and probably will not be dispatched until October, November or later. If you can take three weeks off to volunteer, please contact Volunteer Services.
Clothing/Product Donations
The American Red Cross is unable to accept small, individual donations or collections of items such as clothing, food, cleaning supplies, diapers or other such gifts. The cost to sort, package and distribute these types of donations is almost always greater than the cost of purchasing the items locally, and it is logistically impossible to distribute a wide variety of individual items in a meaningful way.
The best way to help is to make a financial donation, so the Red Cross can move funds to where they are needed, and spend money in the local communities - which helps rebuild their economies.
For additional information about food, clothing, or product donations, please contact the United Way by calling 211.
Housing
Please call United Way at 211 for information.
American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to the Minneapolis Area Red Cross or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org
The HINARI program, set up by WHO together with major publishers, enables developing countries to gain access to one of the world's largest collections of biomedical and health literature. Over 2900 journal titles are now available to health institutions in 113 countries, benefiting many thousands of health workers and researchers, and in turn, contributing to improved world health.
The Red Cross Relief Effort So Far (As of September 7):
Minnesota Volunteers - 63 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota are currently on the scene in Louisiana, Mississippi and other states affected by the disaster. We anticipate that another 109 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota will be dispatched in the coming weeks.
Minnesota Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles - Four Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) from Minnesota have been dispatched to Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, including the ERV from the Minneapolis Area Chapter. Our volunteers are delivering food, water and other assistance to victims.
Evacuees – The American Red Cross has provided shelter for more than 159,000 evacuees.
Shelters – More than 650 Red Cross shelters are open in 17 states. The Red Cross also is coordinating the mass sheltering operation at the Houston Astrodome (along with other agencies), and is working with local partners to find additional facilities in which thousands of evacuees will find a safe, clean and comfortable environment.
Emergency Vehicles – More than 270 Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) are now in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with additional ERVs en route to the affected areas, to conduct food distribution. We are working to engage additional vehicles for food distribution to survivors.
Relief Workers – Thousands of Red Cross staff and volunteers across the country and from every part of the organization are working around the clock to serve the public need. More than 32,000 Red Cross volunteers have responded so far.
Feeding – The Red Cross is working closely with several partners, including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Adventists and Second Harvest to provide emergency food to survivors and responders. More than 4.6 million hot meals and 5.2 million snacks have been served to survivors of Hurricane Katrina to-date.
Health & Preventative Care – The Red Cross is working with government and health services partners to develop health strategies and preventative measures to help the public and relief workers cope with the serious public health emergency.
Reuniting Families - The Red Cross, with support of the worldwide Red Cross Movement, has launched a Web site and hotline to help reunite loved ones. Persons looking for loved ones can go to www.redcross.org and click on “Family Links Registry” to register yourself, a missing relative or view the existing list of registrants. Those who do not have Internet access should call toll-free 1-877-LOVED-1S (1-877-568-3317).