Comprehensive Health Services Supports First-Responders and Corporations Involved in Hurricane Disaster Relief and Recovery
Occupational Health and Wellness Services Crucial to Ensuring Response Personnel Maintain Ability to Aid Storm Victims

VIENNA, VA. – October 3, 2005 – Comprehensive Health Services (CHS), a nationwide occupational health and wellness services company, today announced that it is involved in several initiatives supporting the first responders and corporate personnel aiding Katrina storm victims, by providing medical readiness and response to eleven locations throughout the South to address the medical needs of clients and other organizations participating in related relief and recovery efforts. Medical support of response teams, as well as support of those directly affected, is one of the key requirements during any disaster.

CHS is working with organizations that are intimately involved with the onsite rescue, relief and recovery activities associated with Hurricane Katrina by providing the initial support required in the pre-deployment screening and exams of those who may be at health risk as they work in recovery efforts, providing required immunizations for those deploying to disaster sites, and providing mobile medicine to remote or relatively inaccessible areas.

The company has provided:

• on-location medical and immunization support to reporters and camera crews of a major network operating in Baton Rouge and New Orleans covering the storm and its aftermath;
• occupational health nurses and medical personnel deployed to the shipyards in Mississippi and Louisiana, supplying health and safety information, critical incident stress response counseling and the administration of needed immunizations to support employees who continued with their jobs while dealing with loss of property and family separation.
• inoculations to employees of IAP Worldwide Services, a prime contractor to the Army Corp of Engineers which provides disaster recovery services for hurricane victims
• field-ready mobile response units, beginning with the Joint Base Operation Support Contract (J-BOSC) team of physicians and nurses equipped with medical supplies, to support Kennedy Space Center’s response to storm victims at the NASA Stennis Space Center located in Mississippi between Biloxi and New Orleans.

Randy Abrams, an RN for CHS who was on location in New Orleans supporting the television network’s employees, noted, “The response to the hurricane is both immediate and long-term. Adequate medical care – immunizations, immediate treatment of cuts and abrasions, psychological support – are all crucial to ensuring that these first responders are able to carry out their missions of aiding storm victims in an environment of absolute devastation. The ability to respond quickly to the needs of the rescue and recovery professionals is paramount. CHS received the call for support needs on a Friday night; Saturday morning we had teams assembled and field-ready mobile medical units heading onsite, including one of our occupational health nurses based in Florida who converted her personal RV into a mobile medical clinic.”

Abrams continued, “We’re still in the midst of this hurricane season and disaster response professionals may well be called to handle new developments as well as continue the work created by Katrina. They will need every available onsite medical resource in order to sustain recovery efforts.”

CHS’ extensive experience in medical exam programs, onsite employee health units and environmental health and safety programs gave them the capability and resources to respond quickly and effectively to organizations that needed medical support immediately.

About CHS

Founded in 1975, CHS is a leader in the design, implementation and management of nationwide occupational health and wellness programs. Serving Fortune 1000 corporations and the largest federal agencies, CHS delivers customized solutions for maintaining a healthier, more stable and productive workforce. With in-house medical professionals, a national network of CHS-certified physicians and health care providers, and a proactive approach fortified by a time-tempered foundation of best practices, CHS partners with its customers to provide flexible, performance-based workforce wellness and health programs that result in bottom line benefits across the organization. A member of the Founder’s Circle of the Occupational and Environmental Health Foundation, CHS also is a charter sponsor of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) Corporate Health Achievement Award. For more information, visit the CHS web site at http://www.chsmedical.com.

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