Federal and state officials came through the University campus Friday as the PMAC prepared to house more Louisiana residents affected by Hurricane Isaac.
Preparations began Thursday after the PMAC was designated as a federal medical station. State residents affected by Isaac’s path through the state will be cared for at the PMAC as they are discharged from hospitals but unable to go home because of flooding or loss of electricity.
Cooperation between federal, state and local governments is “setting a new bar” for storm preparedness and recovery, said Nicole Lurie, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Lurie was touring the state to observe how the different medical shelters were serving hurricane evacuees.
State Health Officer and Department of Health and Hospitals Medical Director Jimmy Guidry said the number of residents who will be cared for in the PMAC is not yet known, and they could come from all over the state.
Guidry said search and rescue missions are still ongoing throughout the state, from north Louisiana to coastal parishes like Tangipahoa.
“We’re also using this as a base to get people closer to home,” he said.
The PMAC is being staffed by a Disaster Medical Assistance Team of about 50 medical professionals who will primarily care for patients. Extra help will be provided by staff from the U.S. Public Health Service, said Ken Pastorick, public information officer for the state Department of Health and Hospitals.
Members of both staffs met with Lurie and Guidry in the PMAC, along with Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals Bruce Greenstein and Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public Health J.T. Lane.
Greenstein said the PMAC will be used as a federal medical station as long as there is a need.
____
Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]