Sierra Providence Health Network (SPHN) in conjunction with the Far West Texas/Southern New Mexico Regional Advisory Council and Thomason Hospital announces that on August 24-25th a Binational Forum dealing with Trauma and Disaster will be held in the El Maida Shrine Auditorium located at 6331 Alabama. The purpose of the conference will focus on the coordination of relief during catastrophic events.

In lieu of recent developments that have affected the El Paso area the conference will bring distinguished experts from various fields to discuss the complexity of responding to
“The Katrina Disaster” and our own local disaster. The conference will feature speakers from all over the country such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Dallas, Atlanta, Harlingen and El Paso. The following are some of the major topics covered:

• Decision Making During Facility Failure and Evacution
• Identify the obstacles faced in search and rescue operation following New Orleans levee breaches
• Describe the public health challenges in mass sheltering 
• Illustrate how the El Paso city esponse has affected local planning for future 

The conference is geared towards the following audience: Emergency Medicine Practitioners, Critical Care Practitioners, General Surgeons, Orthopedic Surgeons, Residents, Nurses, Allied Health Professionals, Hospital Administrators, City-County Health Personnel, Military Personnel, Social Workers, Emergency Medicine Technicians, Healthcare Students, Law Enforcement, Educators, Paramedics, Fire Personnel, Border Patrol, FBI and other pertinent personnel instrumental in disaster management.
For more information please feel free to call Ida Waide at 577-6106.

ABOUT SIERRA PROVIDENCE HEALTH NETWORK
Sierra Providence Health Network, part of Tenet Texas, consists of three hospitals located in El Paso: 351-bed Sierra Medical Center, located at 1625 Medical Center Drive; 508-bed Providence Memorial Hospital, which also houses the 106-bed Children’s Hospital at Providence, located at 2001 N. Oregon; and a 72-bed physical rehabilitation hospital, Sierra Providence Physical Rehabilitation Hospital, located at 1740 Curie. The network is in the process of building a fourth hospital, Sierra Providence Eastside Hospital, a 100-bed acute care facility scheduled to open in 2008.
Sierra Medical Center, Providence Memorial Hospital and the Children’s Hospital at Providence are acute care hospitals that offer a broad spectrum of medical and surgical services for adults and children, including cardiac care and rehabilitation, cancer care and support services, women’s services and emergency care. Other network clinical specialties include a dedicated children’s emergency room, kidney transplant, gamma knife radiosurgery, a hospice, a bariatrics center and health care services for chronically ill children. Sierra Providence Physical Rehabilitation Hospital provides a broad spectrum of rehabilitation services and is equipped to handle brain injuries and other serious disorders and is accredited by both the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Sierra Medical Center and Providence Memorial Hospital are accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.