Yale Bulletin and Calendar

April 16, 2004|Volume 32, Number 26

This photograph by Greg Semendiger of the New York City Police Aviation Unit shows boats arriving near the burning World Trade Center site to help with the evacuation of the wounded and others. It will be on view in the Yale exhibit.

Events explore medical responses
to major disasters

Medical responses to major emergencies will be examined in a symposium titled "Disaster Alert -- Be Ready," which will be held Wednesday, April 21, in Harkness Auditorium, Sterling Hall of Medicine, 333 Cedar St.

The symposium -- which coincides with the opening of the exhibition "All Available Boats ... Harbor Voices and Images 9.11.01" -- is free and open to the public and will be broadcast internationally via the Internet. It is sponsored by the School of Medicine and the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Associates.

Following registration at 8:30 a.m. and welcoming remarks at 9 a.m. by Dr. Dennis D. Spencer, interim dean of the School of Medicine, there will be presentations by a panel of experts. Topics and speakers will be:

* "The View from New York: An Update from Ground Zero 2004" by Dr. Mike Magee, vice president for worldwide medical relations and science policy and director of Pfizer's International Medical Humanities Initiative, as well as senior fellow in the humanities to the World Medical Association and honorary master scholar at New York University School of Medicine. A noted author, Magee has championed patient rights, principled leadership and access to scientific discoveries.

* "Bio-terrorism, Disasters and Preparedness" by Dr. Eric Noji, senior policy adviser on world medical disaster readiness to the U.S. Surgeon General's Office and the White House. An expert in the treatment of biological, chemical and blast terrorism, Noji served in the Center for Disease Control and as director of global emergency health intelligence and humanitarian action for the World Health Organization, assessing and monitoring the health of refugees and emergency-displaced populations around the world.

* "Iran's BAM Earthquake: Medical Actions on the Scene" by Dr. Ashgar Rastegar, professor and associate chair of internal medical education and academic affairs at the School of Medicine. Rastegar traveled to his homeland of Iran earlier this year to administer on-site medical care to victims of the disaster.

* "Coordinating Surgical Disaster Actions" by Dr. Reuven Rabinovici, chief of the Section of Yale Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Surgical Emergencies at the School of Medicine. Rabinovici has extensive experience administering aid to trauma victims, and is studying the use of RNA for the early detection of exposure to biological warfare.

* "Physician and Staff Preparedness" by Dr. Jeffrey Arnold, medical director of the Yale New Haven Center for Emergency and Terrorism Preparedness. Arnold has organized the Connecticut State Hospitals' Emergency Programs, overseeing the roles for physicians and other health care workers.

* "The Challenge of Refugee Health Here and Abroad" by Dr. Ashwin Balagopal, chief medical resident at Yale-New Haven Hospital, who has personal experience working in refugee camps in Cambodia and Ghana.

The panel will be introduced and chaired by Dr. Martin E. Gordon, clinical professor of medicine and chair of the board of trustees of the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Associates at the School of Medicine. Gordon is also the organizer and coordinator of the day's program.

Following the presentations, the panelists will take part in a discussion on "The Role of Medical Students, Nurses, Grief Supporters, Public Servants and Volunteers."

"All Available Boats"

The heroic feats of emergency personnel and others who responded to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, are recalled in the exhibition "All Available Boats ... Harbor Voices & Images 9.11.01."

The exhibit -- originally produced for the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City by oral historian David Tarnow and photographer Andrew Garn -- features a series of interviews with members of New York's maritime community, documenting their response to the attack on the World Trade Center and their role in the subsequent evacuation of lower Manhattan. Since the bridges, tunnels and subways were closed off, the water became the only way out. The Coast Guard enlisted all available boats to evacuate over 300,000 walking wounded and terrified office workers, and to bring rescuers and supplies onto the island.

Magee, author of the book "All Available Boats: The Evacuation of Manhattan Island on September 11, 2001," which is based on the exhibit, will join Yale officials at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the display at 1:45 p.m. in Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, located in the Sterling Hall of Medicine. The exhibit will be on view through June 7. Viewing hours are 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. There is no admission charge.

The "Disaster Alert -- Be Ready" symposium is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from the Pfizer Humanities Initiative. The South Street Seaport Museum created the "All Available Boats" exhibit with additional support from the Pfizer Humanities Initiative.

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