Local Medical Professionals To Help Katrina Victims

BOSTON -- They answered the call after the tsunami ravaged Asia, and now, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from Massachusetts General Hospital are doing the same in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported Tuesday that the group is packing their bags and heading for a naval ship off the coast of New Orleans.

Many have only been home for a few months. The devastation in Indonesia broke their hearts wide open, so neither their families, friends or colleagues were surprised when they were among the first to volunteer to help salvage what's left of Katrina.

"It's hard to see, but when you think about your life and what you have, I am willing to do anything," Massachusetts General Hospital nurse Emily Schnapp said.

"It doesn't matter what country you're in. It doesn't matter what gender you are, what ethnicity you are. We go out and just do our care. On the other hand it has a special meaning because these are some of our cousins and brothers, and we need to be there," Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Larry Ronan said.

Ronan's team spent three months off the coast of Indonesia helping tsunami victims through the stages of recovery. Their base of operations was the USNS Mercy -- a naval ship where medical personnel from more than a dozen hospitals were brought together through Project Hope.

Now, they will repeat their efforts, this time off the coast of New Orleans on the USNS Comfort.

"The beginning of recovery includes staffing medical facilities. There are diabetics and people with chronic lung disease. Now the work is to keep the people who survived it healthy," Ronan said.

The first group will leave Saturday, followed by another team on Tuesday. Three weeks later, they will be replaced by a fresh group of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and social workers.

Ronan and Schnapp say they expect to witness the same devastation, the same large-scale tragedy, but with no language barrier, a safer environment and the experience of Indonesia behind them, they hope to do more.

"I feel lucky that I'm safe and that doctors and nurses are able to go down there. I know everybody wants to be able to help," Schnapp said.

Ronan said they expect to be on the USNS Comfort for several months, rotating personnel.