Burn Centers Nationwide Send Supplies to Washington, D.C.

Hospitals and burn treatment suppliers across the nation have offered to help Washington, D.C.'s Washington Hospital Center, which is treating 10 patients from the Pentagon attack in its burn unit, the Washington Post reports. That number is smaller than the hospital first expected, but more than it could treat with supplies on hand. Examples of the assistance include a man from a Dallas hospital, who drove overnight to Washington with an ice chest containing a supply of human skin; a tissue bank in Ohio that, without being asked, took a supply of human skin to a local air force base, which delivered the supplies to WHC on military aircraft; and the University of Michigan's regional burn center, which drove to Washington with five square feet of TransCyte, a temporary skin substitute. The hospital said that all 10 patients are conscious and have "fared well" (Goldstein, Washington Post, 9/14).

Meanwhile, in a press conference yesterday, Washington Hospital Center announced plans for its "Project ER One," a plan to "develop the medical capability to deal directly with acts of terrorism and war." According to WHC, the project will assemble national experts in medicine, public safety, security, architecture, communications, engineering and informatics to design solutions and models for major urban emergency departments throughout the country (WHC release, 9/12).