College of American Pathologists Foundation Awards $140,000 to Medical Services Benefiting Hurricane Katrina Victims

    NORTHFIELD, Ill., March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The College of American
 Pathologists Foundation (CAPF) will award more than $140,000 to help meet the
 medical needs of victims of Hurricane Katrina through the CAP Foundation
 Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.  The Foundation received $70,000 from members'
 gifts and in-kind support from the medical industry, which was matched dollar
 for dollar by the College.  The CAP Board of Governors established the fund,
 through the Foundation, in September 2005 to help those areas impacted by
 Hurricane Katrina.
     "We are pleased to offer financial assistance to help those communities
 affected by Hurricane Katrina re-establish medical pathology services to
 medically indigent patients," said Thomas M. Sodeman, MD, FCAP, president of
 the College. "The Foundation fund provides the College with a unique
 opportunity to lend a hand to our colleagues in Louisiana as they work toward
 delivering quality health care to those in need."
     The CAPF will award the dollars through organizational grants and resident
 stipends.  The organizational grants will serve to re-instate the delivery of
 medical pathology services -- funding equipment, salary support or supplies.
 In addition, the CAPF will offer grants to residents in the form of $500
 stipends to help replace uninsured lost or destroyed educational tools and
 other related training needs, such as travel expenses and lodging required to
 continue their training.  The Foundation Board of Directors and a team of
 seven pathologists, who are involved in either the hurricane affected area or
 Foundation humanitarian grant-making efforts, reviewed the grant applications.
     Currently, the organizational grants will be awarded to the following
 facilities:
 
     The Blood Center, New Orleans, La. will receive $25,000 to resume blood
 collections and services to New Orleans and surrounding regions.  Funds will
 be used to purchase blood bags and other needed blood bank supplies, as well
 as equipment such as computers and centrifuges.
     "We experienced the devastation of Hurricane Katrina first-hand. Our
 facility was flooded with four feet of water for three weeks following the
 storm," said Tim Peterson, MD, FCAP. "These dollars will truly help us rebuild
 the Blood Center to provide safe and reliable blood services to the
 community."
 
     Washington St. Tammany Regional Medical Center, Bogalusa, La. will receive
 $20,373 to purchase equipment to set up a cytopathology section in the
 pathology department. Cytopathology services formerly were provided by the New
 Orleans state hospital system, but are no longer available due to the
 devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
     "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the population of Bogalusa and
 surrounding areas grew significantly, and, consequently, we saw our patient
 volume dramatically increase," said William P. Newman, III, MD, FCAP.  "We
 greatly appreciate the assistance from the College, which will allow our staff
 to deliver quality health care to our patients."
 
     Louisiana State University, Department of Pathology, New Orleans, La. will
 be awarded $30,000 to support the salary of a board-certified transfusion
 medicine pathologist and to purchase equipment and services needed to utilize
 and expand the virtual microscopy program, including resident training.
 
     Earl K. Long Hospital, LSU Health Sciences Center, Baton Rouge, La., which
 is part of a statewide system of charity and teaching hospitals, will receive
 $16,500 to purchase pathology textbooks and reference manuals, along with
 other pathology-related equipment. In addition, Biogenex will donate an
 Autostainer, which will be used to perform histology work that was previously
 done at the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans, which is temporarily
 closed due to damages from the hurricane.
 
     LSU Health Sciences Center, University Medical Center, Lafayette, La. will
 be granted $12,000 to purchase equipment, including microscopes for the
 Pathology Department, histology equipment and teaching materials.  In
 addition, Genzyme will donate two sets of reference books to the LSU Pathology
 Residency Program for use in the relocated training facilities.
     "Our staff has seen their workload increase tremendously with the closing
 of the main facility in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina," said Kelly
 Sorrells, MD, FCAP. "These much needed resources will be greatly appreciated."
 
     The CAPF promotes science and education in an effort to improve the
 delivery of pathology services to patients and expand medical research and
 funding of individual research projects.  In addition, the Foundation is
 dedicated to encouraging leadership in the field of pathology as well as
 providing community service.
     The College of American Pathologists is a medical society that serves
 nearly 16,000 physician members and the laboratory community throughout the
 world.  It is the world's largest association composed exclusively of
 pathologists and is widely considered the leader in laboratory quality
 assurance.  The College is an advocate for high-quality and cost-effective
 medical care.
 
 

SOURCE  College of American Pathologists Foundation