Annual Report - Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

CourageCenter for Disaster and Humanitarian ResponseThe U.S. military is increasingly called on to supportdomestic and international disaster response andother humanitarian assistance efforts, which ofteninvolves providing medical care in austere environmentsand in developing countries. The Center forDisaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine(CDHAM), which operates within USU’s Departmentof Military and Emergency Medicine, serves as acentral resource for the DoD, other government agenciesand international partners.Headed by Robert Darling, M.D., a graduate of theUSU class of 1985, CDHAM’s staff has expertisein a broad range of areas, and its academic settingenables a multidisciplinary approach to disastermitigation. The program is engaged in a full rangeof initiatives aimed at improving preparedness andresponse. Many of these efforts are undertaken withforeign military and civilian agencies, as well as otherleading U.S. academic medical centers.The center supports the U.S. military with a widerange of health-related activities around the world.CDHAM works with the Global Emerging InfectionsSurveillance and Response System (DoD-GEIS)on a pandemic influenza program, serving as aresource for commanders in the field. The center iscollaborating with the U.S. Southern Command tocreate a sustainable HIV/AIDS prevention programfor Caribbean defense forces in seven countries.Staff members also are working with the governmentof Chad on a landmine assistance program to helpgovernment and military forces provide care to victimsof landmines.In May of 2007, two researchers with CDHAMpublished a study showing that many residents ofFEMA-created trailer parks housing persons displacedby Hurricane Katrina are facing serious and persistentmental health issues. According to the study, whichappeared in the Annals of Emergency Medicine,major depression is a pervasive problem, with suicideattempts among trailer park residents at a rate 78times higher than the national average. The researchers,Lynn Lawry, M.D. and Michael P. Anastario, Ph.D.,used a global humanitarian aid perspective to assessa number of factors, including mental health, for thepurpose of informing recovery efforts.In 2007, a CDHAM team traveled to Afghanistan tohelp coordinate efforts to devise strategies to createa long-term health care infrastructure by helping torebuild the civilian medical system and expandinghealth care expertise within the country. Efforts includeworking with Afghan National Security Forces tohelp them develop their health care infrastructure andconduct health care training programs.The Center’s staff has expertise in abroad range of areas, and its academicsetting enables a multidisciplinaryapproach to disaster mitigation.Jim Holliman, M.D., was part of a CDHAMteam that travelled to Afghanistan.30