Medical School affiliates offer their assistance

All Harvard Medical School affiliated hospitals are on alert. Children’s and Brigham and Women’s hospitals have cancelled elective surgery and in-patient visits to conserve resources, especially blood. These facilities, as well as Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are collecting blood. At noon on Wednesday, Susan Craig of Children’s noted that donor lines are “stretching out the door.”

A surgical team of about 35 people left from Massachusetts General Hospital for New York City Tuesday night. Susan Briggs, an associate professor of surgery, heads that team. The hospital has also put its burn and pediatric teams on alert.

On Wednesday, Children’s was assembling a disaster response team of emergency doctors and nurses to head for New York as soon as possible.

None of the hospitals had received any patients from New York City by Wednesday afternoon, but all are prepared for such a possibility.

Medical School faculty, students, and staff gathered on Tuesday at the Medical Education Center to talk about how they felt and what they could do. The School is offering counseling services, and many students and staff have been donating blood at the nearby hospitals.

At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, a prayer vigil was held at Prouty Garden, adjacent to Children’s Hospital.