February 2005 Frontline - Commissioned Officers Association

PHS Pharmacists Fill Many Roles During
Florida’s Worst Hurricane Season in 40 Years
Article submitted by LCDR Sean J.
Belouin, Senior Regulatory Operations
Officer, Internet and Health Fraud
Team, Division of New Drugs and
Labeling Compliance, FDA.
Four hurricanes, Charley, Frances,
Ivan, and Jeanne, smashed the west
coast, east coast and panhandle of
Florida during late August through the
end of October, 2004. The storms
ravaged whole towns, destroying businesses,
homes, and schools; demolishing
infrastructure; leaving neighborhoods
without power and clean
water; and making travel in some areas
impossible. State and local governments
managing the recovery in the
aftermath of the hurricanes quickly
exhausted their resources, with many
of their own staff suffering losses to
their own property.
The Office of Force Readiness and
Deployment (OFRD) within the Office
of the Surgeon General, responded by
deploying over 650 PHS Commissioned
Corps officers. The PHS pharmacy
category saw its largest deployment of
pharmacy officers since the October
2001 anthrax attacks. Dozens of pharmacists
representing almost every
Agency within the United States
Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) deployed during
those two months. Officers were
deployed with DHHS, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), and the American Red Cross
(ARC). Pharmacists served in various
roles as clinical pharmacists, team
coordinators, liaisons, and health
educators. They worked in numerous
locations such as Regional, State and
County Health Departments in Florida
and Alabama, Disaster Field Offices in
Florida and Alabama, in FEMA
Regional Operation Centers, several
Florida and Alabama hospitals, ARC
shelters, and special needs shelters.
They also assisted as members of the
Secretary’s Emergency Response Team,
Florida and Alabama Emergency
Response Teams, and in conjunction
(from left to right) LCDR Krista Scardina updates LT Jennifer Hornsby-Myers and
CDR Darrell LaRoche in between a shift change.
with several of the Disaster Medical
Assistance Teams (DMATs) brought in
from many other states such as New
Mexico, South Carolina, Rhode Island
and Connecticut. PHS officers
frequently had to expand their original
deployment roles to adjust to the everchanging
needs of the organizations
they supported.
PHS pharmacy officers had a direct
impact on the organizations to which
they were assigned, and the effects the
pharmacy officers had on the community
were immediate and felt by thousands
of Floridians. Some of the first
wave of pharmacy officers deployed
were part of 12 member emergency
response teams that consisted of a
physician, physician assistant, nurse
practitioner, 6 staff nurses, a pharmacist,
environmental health officer and
team coordinator/liaison. Pharmacists
that were part of these teams deployed
throughout Florida and parts of
Alabama to ARC shelters and special
needs shelters. The pharmacists
worked closely within the team in evaluating
and developing patient records,
reviewing patient medications, determining
medication needs, conducting
on the spot drug use evaluations, and
providing recommendations to the
prescribing physician and physician
assistants. Pharmacists were able to
provide drug information to shelter
staff regarding patients’ medications
and provide patient medication counseling
to many of the special needs
patients. Pharmacists additionally
coordinated with local hospitals and
pharmacies in acquiring medications
for the shelter patients, assisting the
shelters in acquiring durable medical
and non-medical supplies, and
assisting in the administrative tracking
of patients being admitted and
discharged from the shelters.
PHS pharmacy officers were
assigned to several hospitals
(See PHARMACISTS, page 18)
COA FRONTLINE • FEBRUARY 2005 17