The Rotarian - June 2019

When the plane lands, the team from New Orleans Medical Mission Services, or NOMMS, springs into action. Doctors, nurses, and nonmedical volunteers head to the hospital that is hosting them; there, they set up operating rooms, patient consultation areas, and clinics. They also organize their medical supplies, which are already on the ground, having been loaded on pallets days earlier in NOMMS’ new 9,000-square-foot warehouse in Louisiana and then shipped by air.

“We try to bring everything we’re going to need on the mission so we don’t use up the local hospital’s supplies,” says Tom Kennedy, a retired obstetrician/gynecologist and a member of the Rotary Club of Metairie, Louisiana. Kennedy, a co-founder and the medical director of NOMMS, coordinates logistics for each of the group’s trips.

Several weeks ago our Club welcomed a guest speaker from Kathy’s House. Kathy’s House is a non-profit Guest House providing lodging and a supportive environment to families who are experiencing one of life’s most stressful situations-personal illness or the serious illness of a loved one.

Throughout May we collected paper items and cleaning supplies to donate to Kathy's House and today was delivery day.