South Eugene grad helps victims.Byline: Matt Cooper Matt Cooper may refer to:
A Eugene teen studying pre-med at Tulane University History Founding/early history The University dates from 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana.<ref name="facts" /> With the addition of a law department, it became The University of Louisiana is getting a real-life lesson in emergency care from Hurricane Katrina. Shaun Yockelson, 19, a 2004 graduate of South Eugene High School South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that later served as Eugene's city hall. , is helping treat evacuees Resident or transient persons who have been ordered or authorized to move by competent authorities, and whose movement and accommodation are planned, organized and controlled by such authorities. of New Orleans, home of the university and ground zero for the hurricane being called perhaps the nation's deadliest natural disaster in almost 100 years. Yockelson, a member of the university's student-run emergency medical service, is at Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. in Baton Rouge, La., 80 miles northwest of New Orleans, his father, Alan Yockelson, 51, said Wednesday. Despite the disruption in communication, the elder Yockelson, who lives in Eugene, has been in touch with his son repeatedly by cell phone. As hurricane victims arrive by helicopter, Shaun and other emergency-service students from Tulane unload and diagnose them, and send them to medical facilities in Baton Rouge, Alan Yockelson said. Shaun is a member of the Tulane Emergency Medical Service, or TEMS TEMS Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring Sites TEMS Tactical Emergency Medical Support TEMS Toyota Electronic Modulated Suspension TEMS Tactical Emergency Medical Services (EMS) TEMS Total Electronic Migration System , a volunteer student organization that provides medical care including ambulance transportation. "They are making the medical judgments, and sending them off to different medical facilities," Alan said. "He's physically transporting patients in the Tulane ambulance." Shaun Yockelson, a football player and weight-lifting champion at South Eugene, is on a full academic scholarship to Tulane and plans to become an orthopedic surgeon. He chose Tulane in part for the TEMS program, and the hurricane has thrust him into roles that can't be duplicated in the classroom, Alan Yockelson said. Shaun has been studiously stu·di·ous adj. 1. a. Given to diligent study: a quiet, studious child. b. Conducive to study. 2. withholding the particulars of patient conditions, per confidentiality requirements, but has related his own experiences, his father said - including the fact that he's been sleeping for generally four hours a night since Saturday, when Tulane began bracing for the coming hurricane. Shaun left New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, before the hurricane's Monday landfall land·fall n. 1. The act or an instance of sighting or reaching land after a voyage or flight. 2. The land sighted or reached after a voyage or flight. , a harrowing time for the family because it was unclear whether he'd be trapped in the massive freeway traffic jams as the storm approached. He arrived, unscathed and well ahead of the storm, at Jackson State University Jackson State University, often abridged as Jackson State or by its initials JSU is a historically black university located in Jackson, Mississippi founded in 1877. in Jackson, Miss., along with other Tulane students, staff and faculty, Alan said. "I'm no longer worried about his physical safety," he added. "I worry more that he will try to do too much and not take care of himself." By Tuesday night, Shaun had reached Baton Rouge, and since then he and other TEMS members have been busy with duties ranging from victim care to runs to Wal-Mart for water, food and flashlights. On Wednesday, The Register-Guard tried to reach him, but the communication system was not working. Far from exhausted, Shaun appears energized by the experience, his father said, and is excited to put his training into practice. The elder Yockelson said he's proud of his son's response to those in need. "In Yiddish, there's a word, 'kvelling' - it's when you are bursting with such joy that you can't even find an English word to describe it," Alan said. "That's how his mom and I feel." |
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