September 2005
Cedars-Sinai's 'Coach for Kids' heading to Houston
Mobile medical clinic to provide primary healthcare services to children displaced by Katrina
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 5, 2005) -- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's COACH for KIDS, a mobile medical unit that provides primary healthcare services for children in under-served areas of Los Angeles, will be heading to Houston on Tuesday, Sept. 6, to provide assistance to children there in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Eight members of the team will depart Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. from Van Nuys Airport, courtesy of Los Angeles businessman, Dan Genter, President and CEO of RNC Genter. Genter was born and raised in New Orleans, has family still living there, and is donating his company's private jet to fly the Cedars-Sinai team to Houston for relief efforts. Two other members of the team will be driving the mobile clinic to Houston and will be leaving Cedars-Sinai at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Media are invited to cover the COACH's departure at that time.
In Houston, the COACH will be staffed by a team of eight pediatric and emergency nurses and nurse practitioners, as well as by mental health professionals and the Medical Director of COACH for KIDS, Abhay Dandekar, M.D., a pediatrician. In addition to providing primary healthcare services for children, the COACH will also be bringing much needed medications and medical supplies as well as baby diapers, formula and more.
Cedars-Sinai is working closely with the City of Houston Mayor's Office, Houston Department of Health, and the University of Texas, which are spearheading relief efforts in that state. Because of its mobility and the highly specialized experience of the COACH medical team, the unit has been asked to provide care in some of the estimated 200 private shelters that have been established in the City. These shelters are in area churches and other organizations and are not affiliated with the American Red Cross, so their resources are very limited. The mobile medical clinic for kids will make available to them healthcare services that have not been available in those shelters to date.
PHOTO OP - Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 3 p.m. � The COACH for KIDS will be departing Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to provide medical care to children in Houston who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. (The drive to Houston expected to take 18+ hours). The medical center is located at 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. For a map and driving directions from your location, please click on: http://www.csmc.edu/5249.html.
COACH medications and services in Houston will include:
- First Aid
- Antibiotics
- Immunizations (especially tetanus)
- Mental Health services
- Intravenous fluids for treating dehydration
- Treatment and meds for routine childhood illnesses (respiratory disorders, etc.)
- Asthma meds and treatments (medications, inhalers, oxygen, respiratory equipment for breathing treatments)
- Gastrointestinal medications
- More
An electronic fact sheet on Cedars-Sinai's COACH program is available at http://www.csmc.edu/3591.html. For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact Sandy Van as soon as possible via e-mail ([email protected]) or phone (1-800-880-2397). Alternatively, you may contact Kelli Hanley at 310-423-3674 or via e-mail at [email protected].