John R. Moyers, M.D., Secretary
Anesthesia Foundation

n August 29 Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast causing the devasation that appeared in the news media for days afterward. The Anesthesia Foundation played an important role in disaster relief in two ways: joining with ASA to raise funds and providing financial aid to anesthesiology residents in New Orleans.

The Anesthesia Foundation joined with ASA to form the Anesthesia Foundation-ASA Disaster Relief Fund. Because of the tax-exempt status of the Anesthesia Foundation, it was able to administer the relief funds and provide tax deductions for the donors. Through the ASA Web site and a booth at the Annual Meeting in Atlanta, this relief fund raised more than $235,000 at the time of the writing this article.

Because the Anesthesia Foundation has nearly a 50-year history of providing low-interest loans to anesthesiology residents, Lydia A. Conlay, M.D., Ph.D., President of the Society of Academic Anesthesiology Chairs, contacted the President of the Anesthesia Foundation, William D. Owens, M.D., about relief for residents devastated by the hurricane. Many would need to find temporary residency training because of the damage to their hospitals. Dr. Conlay and the program directors in Houston found temporary residency training positions within the Houston programs available to all of the residents from New Orleans who needed them. In addition, many of the residents had lost some, or all, of their possessions and had need for clothing, temporary housing, furniture and automobiles. The statements below are representative of the needs of just a few of the residents:

• “My vehicle was completely submerged while on high ground in the area. I lost all of my clothing as well as any electronic equipment. The water level reached the ceiling in my one-story house.  At this time, I have no permanent housing or vehicle.  Obviously, all food and material possessions in my home have been destroyed as a result of this hurricane.”

• “I had about 4 to 4.5 feet of flood/sewage water in my home. All contents in my house were destroyed on the bottom floor. No food left, no appliances, etc.”

• “Dear Dr. Moyers,
I am a resident recently displaced by Hurricane Katrina. My house is uninhabitable. It had up to six feet of water in it for over two weeks. I lost most of my possessions. I evacuated with only a few changes of clothes. I am married with three children.”

• “… There was about two feet of water inside the house. The hurricane itself ripped the roof off of the back of the house and toppled a 40-foot live oak tree into the front of the house. All of my textbooks, notes, important documents and papers, including my med school diploma, were inside. I was unable to get these things out because I was on ‘external disaster’ call on Sunday, August 28, and I was evacuated by helicopter on Friday, September 2, from the roof of the hospital parking garage. My furniture and clothes are likely all destroyed. I got out of New Orleans with my wallet and a pair of cowboy boots.”

Immediately the Board of Trustees of the Anesthesia Foundation established a grant and loan program for these residents. Using its expertise and financial assets, the Foundation created a process, surmounted legal and tax barriers, produced a Web-based application form and began sending out grants of $2,500 and loans of $3,500 within two weeks of the disaster. To date, the Anesthesia Foundation has distributed more than $160,000 to deserving anesthesiology residents. This was truly a team effort with cooperation among the Foundation, ASA and its Executive Office and Washington Office and the leadership and residents from the programs in Houston and New Orleans. Despite the displacement and disruption in their lives and training, the resilience and spirit of the residents from New Orleans have been impressive.

The Anesthesia Foundation is the oldest foundation in our specialty, dating back almost 50 years. The first six months of 1956 were devastating to the ranks of prominent American anesthesiologists: R. Charles Adams, M.D., Rolland J. Whitacre, M.D., Brian C. Sword, M.D., Robert B. Hammond, M.D., Henry S. Ruth, M.D., and Arthur E. Guedel, M.D., all died that year. Each of these men made significant contributions to anesthesiology. Eulogies and flowers seemed inadequate as a gesture of sympathy to their families or as a memorial for their outstanding work. The idea of a more fitting expression and a show of acknowledgment of respect that could be perpetuated to benefit coming generations of anesthesiology students therefore struck a cord.

The Anesthesia Memorial Foundation was incorporated in September 1956 “to loan or give money to deserving persons and to assist them in becoming specialists in anesthesia or for research and study in the field of anesthesia and related fields.” Donations given in memory of deceased anesthesiologist were augmented by funds from private and industrial sources that were interested in the purposes of the Foundation. By 1959, sufficient gifts had been received to enable 17 residents needing financial aid to borrow a total of $15,600.

Today the Foundation has more than $1 million of its assets in loans to anesthesiology residents, which will be paid back with low interest at the completion of their training. The Foundation also periodically bestows a Book/Multimedia Award of $10,000 for the best single-author publication in our specialty. The presentation is made at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Anesthesiology, where the author is invited to attend as a guest.

There are currently 12 members of the Board of Trustees: 11 are anesthesiologists, and one is a public member. They receive neither compensation nor reimbursement for expenses and fulfilling their duties. Members of the Board at this time are William D. Owens, M.D. (President), Thomas G. Johans, M.D. (Vice-President), John R. Moyers, M.D. (Secretary), Michael P. Smith, M.D. (Treasurer), Mr. Vincent M. Bufano, Doris K. Cope, M.D., Norig Ellison, M.D., Lennart Fagraeus, M.D., Ph.D., Merel H. Harmel, M.D., Ronald A. MacKenzie, D.O., Carol A. Warfield, M.D., and Jess B. Weiss, M.D. There also is an Advisory Committee composed of former officers of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation who serve in an advisory capacity. Recently a closer association between the Anesthesia Foundation and ASA was approved by the Board of Directors and by the ASA House of Delegates at the Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

Even prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Foundation had insufficient funds to meet demands from deserving residents who had applied for loans. The Foundation felt a responsibility to get a large amount of money quickly to the residents who needed it in New Orleans. It now feels an equal responsibility to begin fundraising to replace those funds and more so that the regular loan program continues. The ASA Resident Component held a fund-raising event at the Annual Meeting during which more than $3,000 was collected to aid fellow residents from the New Orleans area. We hope that those interested will follow that example and go to the Donor Information section of the Foundation’s Web site <www.anesthesiafoundation.org> to show their generosity.

John R. Moyers, M.D., is Professor, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. He is the District Director for Iowa.