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>>USF Health Experts Available to Comment on Health-Related Aspects of Hurricane Katrina

Tampa, FL (Sept. 6, 2005) – To assist you with the ongoing news coverage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and their far reaching effects, USF Health has several experts who can comment on health, public welfare and health policy issues related to hurricanes. Please contact us at the numbers listed above if you are interested in speaking to the following USF Health experts:
 
Public Health Aspects of Hurricane Recovery -- Jacqueline Cattani , PhD , professor of public health and Director of the USF Center for Biological Defense, and John Sinnott, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Infectious Diseases Division at the USF College of Medicine, and Douglas Holt, MD, professor of medicine, can speak about the potential for infectious disease outbreaks and mosquito-borne diseases in the aftermath of hurricanes.
 
Disaster Preparedness/Recovery -- Thomas Mason , PhD , director of the Global Center for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Action at the USF College of Public Health, and Eric Matos, deputy director, can comment on environmental, public health, socioeconomic impacts of natural disasters on populations. The Center oversees research on disaster preparedness and mitigation and is a source of information for disaster planners and relief workers.
 
Hurricane Disaster Direct Assistance -- Steve Morris, MD, RN, director of Disaster and Bioterrorism Training for the USF College of Nursing, accompanied a Florida Department of Law Enforcement team deployed to Biloxi, Miss., three days after Hurricane Katrina hit. Dr. Morris spent two weeks evaluating and treating the Florida law enforcement officers and support staff who responded to the disaster. He also brought along supplies donated by the USF Colleges of Medicine and Nursing, provided medical expertise to assist search and recovery efforts, and treated victims of the hurricane. A native of Biloxi who lived through Hurricane Camille as a child, he plans to return to the Mississippi Gulfcoast to offer humanitarian aid.
 
National Response to Disasters -- Jeffrey Crane, PhD, an expert in domestic emergency preparedness at the USF College of Public Health, is a member of the leadership team tapped by the U.S. Surgeon General and Department of Health and Human Services to develop strategic public health and medical services objectives as the federal government transitions from initial response to long-term recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Crane has overseen the updating of several emergency management plans for Florida counties and bioterrorism exercises for Louisiana and Alabama.
 
Hurricane Stress and the Elderly -- Amanda Smith, MD, geriatric psychiatrist at the USF Suncoast Alzheimer's and Gerontology Center, can comment on how the stress of an natural disaster like a hurricane impacts the elderly, including those with memory disorders or other neuropsychiatric disorders. For those with dementia, such disasters can have a particularly disorienting effect and aggravate behavioral problems, she says. Smith volunteered as part of an Area Agency on Aging assessment team last year following Florida's Hurricane Charley.
 
Asthma Sufferers and Environmental Disruption -- Richard Lockey, MD , professor and director of the USF Allergy and Immunology, or Mark Glaum, MD, assistant professor of medicine, can talk about how the disaster and its environmental disruption may affect adults and children with asthma.
 
Identifying and Handling Bodies -- Amyn Rojiani, MD, professor of pathology, can speak about the Medical Examiner process of examining and identifying those who perished.
 
Legal Aspects/Health Care Delivery -- Jay Wolfson, DrPh, JD, professor of public health and medicine can discuss the legal issues affecting the health, lives and property of people and organizations affected by Hurricane Katrina (i.e., Medicaid, health benefits, property and casualty insurance, death benefits, health policy issues.)
 
 
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USF Health is comprised of the colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health at the University of South Florida and united by one mission "to advance collaborative learning and discovery leading to improved health in our community." USF Health has major affiliations with the area's teaching and research hospitals, providing an important diversity of educational experiences. In partnership with its affiliated hospitals, USF Health's research funding jumped 21 percent last year to $145.4 million — more than half of which came from federal sources.