OhioHealth associates travel to Houston to assist following Hurricane Harvey
UPDATE
Monday, September 18, 2017
Over the weekend, the group of OhioHealth associates who traveled to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to assist following Hurricane Harvey, returned to Columbus. Below is a video about their experience. Scroll down to read an earlier post about their work in Houston.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
This week, OhioHealth associates joined a group of more than 100 clinical professionals from around the country to provide a bit of respite to clinical team members at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center following the devastation caused in the area by Hurricane Harvey. This includes nine laboratory associates from OhioHealth. This support will allow MD Anderson to continue to provide excellent patient care while giving employees affected by the storm time to address their personal needs.
“We’re focused on meeting the needs of our patients, but also we’re focused on meeting the needs of our staff,” said Carol Porter, D.N.P., senior vice president and chief nursing officer, MD Anderson. “Our faculty and staff have been so devoted to MD Anderson, and this external supplemental staff will allow our teams who’ve been affected to take care of themselves, their families and their personal property.”
“Being a certified member of MD Anderson Cancer Network®, a program of MD Anderson Cancer Center, means we are family. And when a family member is in need, you are compelled to help,” said Michael Bianchi, OhioHealth system vice president of cancer services. “When our laboratory associates heard MD Anderson needed support in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, many volunteered to travel to Houston in just a matter of hours. We are honored to help, along with other members of the network, and hope this assistance will allow the MD Anderson team to continue to serve their patients, while also being able to spend some time focusing on their families and recovery efforts. Our thoughts continue to be with the patients, physicians and staff patients at MD Anderson, as well as everyone in the southeast Texas region.”
"Healthcare is what we do and to see another hospital - another group of professionals struggling just because they can't get in to care for their patients - it just kind of brings that out to go and help them get through this time," Caroline Lerner, an OhioHealth technical scientist, told WBNS-10TV from John Glenn Columbus International Airport as she and the rest of the group headed to Houston.
In addition to OhioHealth, support is coming from UT Southwestern in Dallas, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Phoenix and Northwell Health in New York. All four organizations are donating their time, travel expenses and service to MD Anderson. Teams will be onsite for one-week intervals over the next two to three weeks.
“We’re grateful for the support of these organizations and their clinical and security professionals who volunteered to assist MD Anderson in our time of need,” said Marshall E. Hicks, M.D., president ad interim, MD Anderson. “This storm has affected our people, and now we’re doing everything we can to help them get back on their feet while continuing to offer excellent patient care. Together, we are MD Anderson Strong.”
Stories about the OhioHealth team working in Houston recently ran in the Columbus Dispatch and on 10TV. Click on the logo below to read the Dispatch story.
OhioHealth medical technologists and technical scientists travel to Houston to assist in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Pictured L-R are: Front Row - Sarah Fennell and Tamra Pleasant. Back Row - Anna Lee, Lorie Landon, Elisha Ringenberg, Caroline Lerner, Heather Stockwell, Jennifer Hemmelgarn and David Yang.
