FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don Jewler, ACCC Communications Director
301.984.9496, ext. 208
djewler@accc-cancer.org
For Immediate Release: February 1, 2006
Post-Katrina: What Cancer Programs Must Learn About Emergency Planning
One Louisiana community cancer program shares lessons learned
ROCKVILLE, MD—Hospitals and cancer programs along the Gulf Coast are still recovering from the onslaught of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Despite the fact that hospitals had disaster plans in place, “History now shows we were unprepared when Hurricane Katrina hit in August and when Rita made landfall,” said Becky DeKay, Director of Oncology Services at the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, La. She will speak at the Association of Community Cancer Centers 32nd Annual National Meeting on March 17 in Arlington, Va.
DeKay will share successes and lessons learned about emergency preparedness from the Gulf Coast’s recent experience with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“Disasters occur; we know that. Our job is to be as prepared as possible and continuously improve our ability to provide care for our patients,” said DeKay.
Through the lens of recent experiences along the Gulf Coast, DeKay will explore what led to the lack of preparedness and what happened in the disaster zones and in the areas receiving evacuees. She will provide insight into the lessons that cancer care providers must learn post-Katrina.
The Association of Community Cancer Centers provides a national forum for addressing issues that affect community cancer programs, such as regulatory and legislative issues, measurements of the quality of care, and clinical research. Its unique membership of more than 650 hospital cancer programs and oncology private practices includes all members of the cancer care team: medical and radiation oncologists, surgeons, cancer program administrators and medical directors, oncology nurses, pharmacists, radiation therapists, oncology social workers, and cancer program data managers.
