FIU medical team ready to deploy


MIAMI – The State University System (SUS) has called upon its students, faculty and staff throughout Florida to mobilize resources in support of Haiti’s recovery.

Immediately following the earthquake, Chancellor Frank Brogan asked each university president to identify available resources, including equipment and human resources.

The FIU Colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Public Health and Social Work have banded together to create a medical mission team to help support the health care needs of the Haitian people.

The team is made up of general practitioners, OB-GYNs, advanced practice nurses, disease prevention experts, an epidemiologist, a mental health specialist, a physical therapist and a dietician. FIU is working in conjunction with the SUS to coordinate and maximize its resources.

The FIU medical team is likely to deploy in the coming months as part of a series of coordinated waves that will include several state universities in Florida.

“This is not a one-month project,” said College of Medicine Executive Associate Dean Donald Smithburg, who is the liaison between FIU’s medical team and the state effort. “FIU’s commitment to Haiti’s recovery is long term and we are grateful to have such a talented group of health professionals who have volunteered to be part of this daunting effort.”

The medical team is part of FIU’s ongoing efforts to provide support to Haiti. Last week, FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg convened the first meeting of the FIU Haiti Relief Task Force, a group of leaders from around the university brought together for the purpose of coordinating the short, mid- and long-term efforts of the university for Haiti.

Throughout FIU, various departments are identifying and harnessing the knowledge and skills of faculty, staff and students to address the medical, infrastructure, legal and other relief and recovery needs for Haiti. FIU also is committed to assisting its students with ties to Haiti who are experiencing hardship as a result of the earthquake.

Additionally, FIU is constructing a database of Creole speakers willing to serve as interpreters to help with a variety of efforts, including requests the university has received from its community partners. For more information on what FIU is doing to help Haiti, visit Hope for Haiti: Doing our Part.

-FIU-

About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University”. In August 2009, FIU welcomed the inaugural class of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. For more information about FIU, visit
http://www.fiu.edu.

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