If a hurricane or other major weather event is being forecast, consider taking these actions ahead of time:
▸ Clear out areas with extensive glass frontage as much as possible. If you have shutters, use them; otherwise, use precut plywood to board up doors and windows.
▸ Remove outdoor hanging signs.
▸ Bring inside or secure any objects that might become airborne and cause damage in strong winds.
▸ Store as much equipment as high as possible off the floor, especially goods that could be in short supply after the storm.
▸ Move equipment that cannot be stored away from glass and cover it with tarpaulins or heavy plastic.
▸ Place sandbags in spaces where water could enter.
▸ Remove papers from lower drawers of desks and file cabinets and place them in plastic bags or containers on top of the cabinets.
Medical Schools Are Making Do
Medical schools affected by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath scrambled to find alternate locations and resources.
At press time, most students from Tulane University in New Orleans were being housed 180 miles away at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss.
“Senior administrative staff are in discussion with their counterparts at Houston-area medical schools about these schools assisting Tulane in continuing to provide medical education for Tulane students in all 4 years of medical education,” the Association of American Medical Colleges reported. A similar plan was being developed for Tulane residents.
The Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, will hold classes in Baton Rouge, Dean Larry Hollier, M.D., said in a statement. “We will be expanding our bed capacity at Earl K. Long Medical Center [in Baton Rouge] and at University Medical Center in Lafayette and reassigning our residency staff to those hospitals [and others].”
The University of South Alabama in Mobile reopened in September, the AAMC reported.