MD Tries to Volunteer for Medical Duty in Hurricane Zone – But Can’t Get Feds to Return His Call

Bureaucratic Outrage: The following was posted to a message board frequented by alumni of a prestigious university in the South. If any of our readers in the government would like to know more about this situation, email us here.

I have never been so frustrated in my life:

Last Wed: Contacted Red Cross about volunteering as a physician wherever they need me. They told me they were focusing on shelter and feeding for the time being which I understood. Told to contact Dept. of HHS. Called them and they didn’t return my call even after I told them I would pay my own way just to help.

Last Thursday: Called them again. They referred my to JC-Nationwide which is a physician locum tenens company that received a HHS contract to handle arrangement of physician volunteers. They didn’t call me back.

Last Friday: Called the JC Nationwide again. Got a person who took my information and said they would call me Monday.

Monday: No one called me and couldn’t get anyone but a voicemail.

Today: Called them again and they said they would call me later in the day after a “conference call” with HHS. They didn’t call. Called them back in the afternoon and they told me that HHS has decided to do the arrangements and gave me a new phone number. Called that number and they gave me a website to register and told me it would be a minimum of four days before anyone contacted me.

I just want to scream. We are willing to go whenever, wherever and can’t get anyone to do something. Called the Louisiana and Mississippi governors office who gave me the same phone numbers. It shouldn’t be this hard to help people…

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