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May 19, 2010 MEDIA ADVISORY: LDH to Hold Press Briefing on Emergency Evacuation Exercise
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, -
BATON ROUGE— As hurricane season approaches, state, federal and local agencies are working together to test the state’s Medical Institution Evacuation Plan (MIEP). LDH Secretary Alan Levine will hold a news conference on Thursday prior to the exercise at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport to discuss the state’s preparedness and the partnerships critical to getting Louisiana’s patients out of the path of an impending hurricane.
| WHAT | Medical Institution Evacuation Plan Exercise News Conference |
| WHO | Alan Levine, LDH secretary joined by New Orleans Deputy Mayor of Operations Greg St. Etienne and Col. Lawrence Riddles, Command Surgeon for the U.S. Transportation Command, as well as other guests from an array of local, state and federal agencies. |
| WHEN |
Thursday, May 20, 10:00 a.m. |
| WHERE |
New Orleans Lakefront Airport
|
The MIEP, developed after Hurricane Katrina, is an evacuation plan for hospitals in case of a catastrophic event in which they will need assistance evacuating patients. The plan, which was used to evacuate 500 patients prior to hurricane Gustav’s landfall in 2008, is initiated during an event where multiple hospitals along the threatened coastline have to evacuate at the same time. The two-day exercise got underway Wednesday as responders made a mock determination of how many hospitals and how many patients require evacuation. It continues Thursday with the actual evacuation of mock patients on as many as nine C-130’s from the Lakefront Airport.
Following the news conference, media will have the opportunity to videotape and/or photograph the exercise.
The Louisiana Department of Health strives to protect and promote health statewide and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all state citizens. To learn more about LDH, visithttp://www.dhh.louisiana.gov.
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