Alfred Abuhamad, MD, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at EVMS, was in Haiti concluding a class for local physicians and midwives in the use of ultrasound when the earthquake struck.

"At around 4:48 pm, as I was asking if anybody had any questions," Dr. Abuhamad says, "the ground shook violently."

The Norfolk Education Foundation presented Eastern Virginia Medical School with two A+ Community Partners awards on Thursday, Jan. 12, at the third annual Together in Education Awards.

At the event, held at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, EVMS received the Collaborative Award for the Master of Physician Assistant program's annual health fair at Chesterfield Elementary and the Mentoring Award for the work done by Mentoring Society, a medical student organization, and its strong relationship with Monroe Elementary.

Eastern Virginia Medical School joins the global community in mourning the catastrophic impact of this week's earthquake in Haiti. EVMS faculty, staff and students are encouraged to help in whatever manner each person deems appropriate.

Numerous charitable organizations are accepting donations to help with the recovery effort. Gov. Timothy Kaine and Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell are encouraging state employees to support the International Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross. For more information, go to www.RedCross.org. A list of other charitable, non-governmental organizations can be found at www.InterAction.org, and Google has established a page that contains many ways to help.