Physician Directory
Regional training center designation awarded to Shands Jacksonville
By: Betty A. Poole
Published: Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Shands Jacksonville was declared a National Disaster Life Support Course Regional Training Center on August 24, 2009. This designation allows Shands Jacksonville and the faculty of the University of Florida College Of Medicine-Jacksonville to offer the National Disaster Life Support Course (NDLS) to both the campus and the community.
Joseph Sabato Jr., M.D., assistant professor and director of field operations and disaster management with the University of Florida College Of Medicine-Jacksonville, and Julie A. Lewis, M.D., a June 2009 graduate of the emergency medicine residency program, completed the application over the course of the academic year as a senior resident project.
With collaboration and support from the UF Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research (CSESaR) and Andy Godwin, M.D., associate professor and associate chair for emergency medicine, assistant dean for simulation education and the center's medical director, the application was submitted to the National Disaster Life Support Foundation board of directors. The foundation established the training program in conjunction with the American Medical Association, to better prepare health care professionals and emergency response personnel for mass casualty events.
Drs. Sabato and Lewis were joined by Ashley E. Booth, M.D., assistant professor and associate program director for the emergency medicine residency program, and Thomas A. Kunisaki, M.D., associate professor with the emergency medicine department, to facilitate the first course provided to the emergency medicine department faculty and residents.
The NDLS course focuses on a comprehensive approach by physicians and other health professionals in dealing with all catastrophic emergencies from terrorist acts, to explosions, fires, natural disasters and infectious diseases. The overarching goal is to standardize emergency response training nationwide and strengthen our nation’s public health system.
