Request for help to treat displaced children
brings overwhelming response
Halim Hennes, MD, MS
Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine
Division Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, UT Southwestern
Emergency Department Medical Director of Emergency Services, Children’s Health
December 2017 Dallas Medical Journal 13
ith the expected
arrival of evacuees
from Hurricane
Harvey on the Texas
Gulf Coast, the State
asked the City of Dallas
Offi ce of Emergency Management and UT
Southwestern medical directors to establish
a megashelter with a full medical clinic.
Children’s Health System Texas, Baylor
Scott & White, Parkland, and UTSW were
asked to participate in the shelter clinic
operations, along with Dallas County
Health and Human Services, the Dallas
County Medical Society, and the American
Red Cross. I directed the establishment of
a pediatric clinic within the shelter clinic,
assisted by Lori Vinson, RN, senior director
of trauma, injury prevention and emergency
management at Children’s Health. Many
critical components facilitated the opening
and operation of the pediatric clinic.
We developed a schedule for Children’s
Health physicians, nurses and child life/
music specialists. Th ree to four physicians
(at least one emergency or critical care
physician), two nurses (one emergency
department and one clinical resource
team), and one child life or music specialist
served per shift.
To help provide pediatric emergency
medicine support when pediatricians were
not on shift, the CHST Virtual Health
team set up a telemedicine services area
with telemedicine equipment connected
to Children’s Hospital Dallas Campus
Emergency Department.
On our initial visit to the pediatric
clinic at the shelter, physician leaders and
pharmacy created a list of needed pediatricspecifi
c equipment and medication.
Physician staffi ng
Th is involved determining the number
of physicians required per shift and
where to recruit them, ensuring they are
credentialed, scheduling them, and having
back-up.
Julio Perez-Fontan, MD, chairman
of the Department of Pediatrics at UT
Southwestern, called for faculty volunteers.
Robert Morrow, MD, president of
academic relations and chief clinical
offi cer for Children’s Health, called upon
all Children’s Health medical staff to
volunteer. Jane Hamner, MD, president
of the Pediatric Society of Greater Dallas,
called on members to volunteer, as did the
Dallas County Medical Society.
We had an overwhelming response from
general pediatricians and subspecialty
pediatricians to volunteer and serve at the
shelter — more than 400 people.
Julie Lively, the division administrator
of pediatric emergency medicine, planned
the shelter physicians schedule covering
two 12-hour shifts per day from Aug. 30
through Sept. 15. On average, two or three
pediatricians covered every shift.
Nurse staffi ng
Key parts of nurse staffi ng mirrored
those of physician staffi ng: determine
recruitment sources, ensure they are
credentialed, schedule them, and have
back-up.
Th e nursing leadership at Children’s
Health called on nursing staff to volunteer
for shelter staffi ng. Th e nursing response
and support was outstanding. Lori
Vinson and Chelsey Rixon, Emergency
Department manager, coordinated the
schedule for nursing staff .
Nurses from the community and other
healthcare facilities also reached out to us
to volunteer.
Clinic operations
Dana Suell and Ashleigh Allison from
the offi ce of trauma and emergency
management at Children’s Health
managed clinic operations and logistics
on a daily basis. Th ey were instrumental
in facilitating communication, providing
on-site logistical support for our volunteers
at the shelter, arranging group transport,
maintaining documents, and serving as
liaisons among leadership, volunteers and
agencies at the shelter. Th e Emergency
Management Program represented CHST
and attended the medical shelter, unifi ed,
and city Command Center briefi ngs
multiple times a day.
We treated 147 children at the
Megashelter clinic, and transported others
to area facilities. At the shelter clinic, we
treated them mainly for respiratory illness,
gastrointestinal complaints and fever. DMJ
W
Medical Treatment of Children
LOCATION TOTAL
Dallas ED/Inpatient
Dallas CCBD
Dialysis
ENT Clinic
Piano ED/Inpatient
Megashelter Medical
Clinic
Total
66
1
3
2
16
Children’s Health
Pediatric Group Clinic
147
8
243
“It’s been an absolute
blessing being able to
take care of the pediatric
population in need.”
Wendy Lai, MD