SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 16, 2005 - Technology assistance being provided by Intel Corporation and others for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts is allowing victims to get back on their feet and helping the region rebuild. Over the past two weeks, Intel and its technology partners have enabled technical solutions that are proving to be important to the relief and recovery, including donating more than 2,300 wireless laptops for American Red Cross shelters, deploying wireless broadband infrastructure such as WiMAX for first responders, and assisting the Veterans Administration with the set up of mobile hospitals along the Gulf Coast.

On Sept. 17, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett will join Red Cross officials on a fly-over of impacted areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

"Intel is proud that we've been able to play a role in helping the region recover and in aiding those who have been impacted in rebuilding their lives," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "We are committed to continuing efforts that can relieve suffering and to assisting the Gulf Coast as it gets back on its feet."

Equipment and Technical Assistance
Intel is coordinating the donation of more than 2,300 laptop personal computers to the Red Cross for use in its shelters. Approximately 1,500 of those PCs came directly from Intel inventory for its own employees.

With critical network support supplied by Cisco, SBC and Avaya, Intel has donated 150 wireless Internet access points to enable wireless local area connectivity in priority relief center locations. Key locations for deployment of PCs and wireless access points include Houston; Baton Rouge, La.; and Montgomery, Ala. Intel volunteers, along with those from other companies, managed the configuration, distribution and installation of the equipment at the direction of the Red Cross.

Nearly 200 Intel employees have provided on-site or off-site technical assistance to ensure the success of technical deployments. PCs are being configured by Intel and its partners according to Red Cross requirements to allow shelters to exchange important information with the organization's headquarters regarding victim status, resource needs and case management. These systems, along with broadband access, provide a technology backbone that gives thousands of hurricane victims a means of communicating with relatives, verifying their identity for emergency fund distribution, contacting social services and accessing information important to their relocation.

The impact of these technology deployments has been significant. For example, at the Houston Convention Center, volunteers using donated laptops processed case forms for 4,400 families (12,000 people) in 2 1/2 days. At the Houston Astrodome, with 350 laptops, 3,000 families were able to find permanent shelter within 24 hours.

Internet Connections
Communications problems have been a major challenge in coordinating disaster recovery, rescue and care efforts. Working with Tropos, MCI's SkyTel and others, Intel is helping to establish WiMAX and Wireless Mesh networking connectivity in locations throughout the region including around Biloxi, Miss. and Baton Rouge These networks are being used or will be used by FEMA, the Red Cross, local first responders and citizens to access the Internet where no broadband connection is otherwise available and in areas where the communications infrastructure has been compromised.

Health Care IT
Intel's Digital Health Group has been coordinating relief efforts with the regional Veterans Administration's Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) to set up nine mobile hospitals along the Gulf Coast. Currently, mobile VA clinics have been established in: Hammond, La; Slidell, La; McComb, Miss; Biloxi, Miss; and Lake Charles, La.

The VISN covers a vast area of 170,000 square miles providing health care to veterans in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and parts of Texas, Missouri, Alabama and Florida. Currently, the VISN has opened up the care beyond veterans to all those seeking assistance in the region.

To date, Intel's Digital Health Group has procured, built and sent 55 notebook PCs equipped with Cellular Edge cards (connectivity) to the nine mobile units, as well as to brick and mortar operations in Biloxi. These systems have resulted in significant productivity for the clinical teams in the mobile units by providing connectivity to centralized records management systems, pharmaceutical systems, and patient tracking.

Financial Contributions
On Sept. 1, the Intel Foundation announced that it would donate $1 million to the Red Cross and that it would also match employee contributions. To date, Intel and its employees have directly donated more than $2.6 million.



News Source: Intel Press Release
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