When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in fall 2005, the response here at Emory was both professional and inspiring. Plans were drawn quickly and efficiently over that fateful Labor Day weekend, and people set to work, running at a sprinter's pace even as they realized that they were in a marathon. They met planes, triaged patients, staffed shelters, housed evacuees, set up phone lines to locate patients' families, helped displaced students, and generally reached out with hearts and hands to help people in great need. We can all be proud of this response. But no one should be surprised. Responding to great need is simply what they do best, each and every day.
     Clinicians and faculty in Emory Healthcare and in the schools of medicine, nursing, and public health understood full well that this was not only a full-scale disaster but also a crucial teaching moment. Students and physicians in training, like the one in the photo opposite this page, were observing them as role models to understand how to respond at a time like this. The mentors in this case not only provided great leadership but also inspired it in their trainees. "This is what we're all about," they seemed to say to one another. Indeed, helping people in need and being there when they need it is what we're all about.
     This is the second in a series of collected stories about what we do in and for the community, whether in our own neighborhood, across town, or at far-flung locations around the globe. It's a chance to take stock, to find inspiration in the good and generous spirit of those around us, a chance to say thank you to those good souls for what they did during this time of crisis and for what they do every day all throughout the Woodruff Health Sciences Center.
     We hope these stories will be a source of inspiration to you, just as Emory faculty and staff are to us. It is a great privilege to serve those in need and to bring care where and when it is needed most.

Sincerely,

Michael M.E. Johns

Michael M.E. Johns, MD
CEO, Woodruff Health Sciences Center
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Emory University
Chairman of the Board, Emory Healthcare

The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University includes:

•Emory University School of Medicine

•Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

•Rollins School of Public Health

•Yerkes National Primate Research Center

•Emory Healthcare, the largest, most comprehensive health care system in
Georgia, which provides millions of dollars in charity care each year and includes

   • The Emory Clinic
   • Emory Children's Center
   • Emory University Hospital
   • Emory Crawford Long
        Hospital
   • Wesley Woods Center of
        Emory University
   • Emory-Adventist Hospital,
        jointly owned
   • EHCA, LLA, created in
        collaboration with the Hospital
        Corporation of America

     Emory Healthcare also has a community-based health care affiliate network of hospitals and physicians throughout Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina, with whom Emory shares its resources as an academic medical center and enhances the provision of health care services.