Former OOA Member Advises Chileans on Miners Rescue

A former OOA member, now chief of space medicine with NASA in Houston, has been advising the Chilean health minister on how to safely return 33 miners, trapped since August 5th, to the surface.

According to a story in today's Columbus Dispatch, J.D. Polk, DO, spent a week in Chile in late August briefing officials on techniques to stabilize the miners' blood pressure and prepare them for their eventual ascent to the surface. He also advised officials on exercise techniques, nutritional and fluid needs of the miners since the cramped conditions in the mine have similarities with those  encountered by astronauts during space travel.  

Dr. Polk is former medical director for the Ohio Emergency Medical Services division. He was an emergency-room doctor at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and the chief flight surgeon for the hospital's Metro Life Flight.

Read the full story here:  

<http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2010/10/12/local-doc-at-nasa-has-eyes-on-miners.html?sid=101>