UC Davis experts: Hurricanes
The following UC Davis faculty members are available to speak on topics related to hurricanes and their aftermath.
Geography and history
Medical issues
- Emergency and disaster response
- Threat of disease
- Emergency and disaster response, toxic dangers
- Using telemedicine technology for emergency response
- Hospital evacuations
Emergency management
Business impacts
GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Flood risks for U.S. cities
UC Davis geologist Jeffrey Mount is a watershed expert and a vocal critic of urban flood "management" that relies upon costly and fallible levees, channels and dams, such as those built to protect New Orleans and Sacramento. Mount says, "New Orleans lost the battle with the inevitable; the same will eventually occur here in Sacramento." Mount is a member of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. Contact: Jeffrey Mount, Geology, (530) 752-7092, jfmount@ucdavis.edu.
History of New Orleans and the Mississippi
Environmental historian Ari Kelman can discuss the historical relationship between New Orleans and the Mississippi River. In his 2003 book "A River and Its City: The Nature of Landscape in New Orleans," Kelman discusses the conflict between public and private control of the river, and describes how floods, disease and evolving technology have impacted the river and the city. Contact: Ari Kelman, History, (530) 752-1634, akelman@ucdavis.edu.
MEDICAL ISSUES
Emergency and disaster response
UC Davis Medical Center pulmonary and critical care specialist Steven Tharratt is a national authority on emergency preparedness and response to catastrophic events, including floods and bioterrorist acts. He is also medical director for Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services and all Sacramento city and county fire agencies. He is a member of the state's Standing Committee on Terrorism, the Northern California FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the California State Threat Assessment Team. Tharratt was one of two physicians deployed to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, with the Sacramento Urban Search and Rescue Team. Contact: Karen Finney, pager (916) 762-7787, office (916) 734-9064, karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
Threat of disease
UC Davis Medical Center infectious disease expert Stuart Cohen can comment on the prevention and treatment of water- and vector-borne diseases that are common following floods and other natural disasters. In addition, he can advise individuals traveling to affected regions how to reduce their risk of infection. Cohen specializes in the prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks in hospitals and the community. He is professor of infectious diseases and director of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control and, in addition, directs the department's Traveler's Clinic. Contact: Karen Finney, pager (916) 762-7787, office (916) 734-9064, karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
Emergency and disaster response, toxic dangers
Timothy Albertson, professor of medicine, emergency medicine, pharmacology and anesthesiology, has extensive experience in preparing for and responding to disasters. Albertson has been a member of the California National Guard for 17 years, where he has served as state surgeon for three years. His work with the California National Guard includes contributing his expertise to the guard's mission of readiness for disasters. Albertson also provides expert advice to California physicians and residents on toxic substances and poisonings. As medical director of the Sacramento Division of the California Poison Control System, he is frequently consulted by Northern California physicians when they encounter a puzzling poisoning question. Contact: Karen Finney, pager (916) 762-7787, office (916) 734-9064, karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
Using telemedicine technology for emergency response
Thomas Nesbitt, executive associate dean of administration and clinical outreach at UC Davis Health System, directs the UC Davis Telemedicine Program. A family practice physician by training, he is an expert in rural health and an international authority on telemedicine and the use of telecommunications technology to improve access to medical care. He is working with the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense regarding the possible use of telemedicine, including portable satellite technology connections, to provide medical specialists from throughout the University of California system to help hurricane victims. UC Davis operates one of the largest telemedicine programs in the nation and its internationally recognized training center teaches physicians and hospital leaders how to establish their own telemedicine programs. Contact: Charles Casey, UC Davis Health System Public Affairs, pager (916) 762-2136, office (916) 734-9048, charles.casey@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
Hospital evacuations
Carol Robinson, senior associate director at UC Davis Medical Center, has played a central role in devising plans for the evacuation of the hospital, a process that hospitals in New Orleans are undertaking or may be forced to consider. In extreme cases, Robinson says, the patients most likely to survive would be transported first. Most hospital patients are dependent on technology of some kind, and a disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina has serious impacts. Under dire circumstances, such as prolonged periods without electricity, very sick patients dependent on ventilators, as well as neonates, would probably die, Robinson says. Ironically, the availability of electricity would make matters more complicated, according to Robinson, because hospital personnel would then have to decide which patients are stable enough to be transported and which can stay behind and still be supported. Contact: Carole Gan, UC Davis Health System Public Affairs, pager (916) 762-2089, office (916) 734-9047, carole.gan@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Integrated emergency management
Capt. Shawn Cullen of the UC Davis Fire Department has been a faculty member of FEMA's Emergency Management Institute and Healthcare Leadership training programs since 1997. He teaches a course on integrated emergency management and emergency management for higher education institutions. A firefighter with more than 27 years experience, he is also serving on a committee of California's Emergency Management Agency that is developing training and exercises to implement the federally mandated National Incident Management System. Contact: Capt. Shawn Cullen, Fire Department, (530) 752-1236, SCullen@cityofdavis.org.
BUSINESS IMPACTS
Investor reactions
Brad Barber, a professor in the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis, can comment on how investors react to dramatic events. He has published widely on the psychology of investing. Contact: Brad Barber, Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-0512, bmbarber@ucdavis.edu.
Markets and business confidence
Disasters can raise frightening questions about their impacts on financial markets and business confidence, says economist Robert Smiley of the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis. Contact: Robert Smiley, Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-7366, home (530) 757-1766, rhsmiley@ucdavis.edu. Available beginning Sept. 5.
Media contacts:
- Karen Finney, UC Davis Health System Medical Science Public Affairs, pager (916) 762-7787, office (916) 734-9064, karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
- Karen Nikos, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-6101, kmnikos@ucdavis.edu
Last updated Nov. 20, 2011
