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October 15th, 2005 Octapharma Raises $20,000 in Company Match Fund Raising Program to Aid Hurricane Victims in the US
Established in 1984 by a handful of volunteer doctors and nurses, IMC now has over 6000 volunteers with expertise in medical care and mental health services, medical training, public health program development and healthcare administration support for community based organizations. Since it’s founding in 1984, IMC has responded to man-made and natural catastrophes in more than 40 countries on four continents. Typically, the IMC works in developing nations. Following the hurricanes, the IMC recognised the opportunity to contribute the experience gained around the world to a disaster region at home. The IMC was selected as the recipient organization for the funds raised through a company match initiative in support of the people displaced following the hurricanes based on their expertise, their activities in the affected region, collaborations they have formed with government agencies, community organisations, other relief organizations, and based on high ratings from charity watch organizations. The funds donated to the IMC will be used to forward their activities in the region according to the current objectives. A short description of the initial response of the IMC and their ongoing and long-term projects are found below. IMC Activities in US Hurricane Region: Immediate response: Within days after Katrina struck, IMC dispatched a team of doctors and disaster response experts to Baton Rouge to assess emerging conditions and to identify critical gaps in medical care. Working with the United States Public Health Service and the American Red Cross, IMC conducted assessments and provided care to urban and rural areas outside of New Orleans, including Monroe , Baton Rouge and Lafayette , where thousands of evacuees are residing in shelters. On-going projects: IMC is partnering with community-based organizations across the Gulf Coast that are considered critically important to the relief and recovery effort. IMC teams have been assessing both urban and rural areas outside of New Orleans that have not yet received adequate attention, despite the devastation in these regions as well. IMC has formed a special partnership with the St. Charles Community Health Center in Luling, Louisiana (20 miles upriver from New Orleans), to provide urgent medical care to communities north of hard-hit New Orleans that now serve as host to over 20,000 evacuees. IMC will help meet pressing staffing needs at St. Charles by supplying primary health care physicians and nurses, as well as mental health experts specialized in identifying and treating the unique needs of disaster victims. IMC will also provide medical supplies and additional support to St. Charles to ensure that the health center has the necessary resources to serve these communities. IMC and St. Charles will also operate two mobile medical units to provide primary health care outreach services to other local communities. Currently, the St. Charles Community Health Center is seeing up to 500 patients per day, about 5 times their normal volume. In Mississippi , IMC provided a mental health training program for the Harrison County School District ’s psychosocial caregivers, including school nurses, counsellors, social workers, and psychologists. IMC has established a partnership with the prestigious School of Public Health at Tulane University in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts. IMC and Tulane will focus on enhancing emergency preparedness, improving public health and addressing social justice issues that have emerged as a result of the recent disaster. Octapharma is proud to support the International Medical Corps in their efforts to alleviate those suffering from displacement in the affected communities and a health system under pressure following the September hurricanes in the Gulf region of the US. © Octapharma AG, 2005 |
