November 5, 2010                                                                    Contact: Matt Splett
                                                                                                      Media Coordinator
                                                                                                      splettm@health.missouri.edu 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                    (573) 882-5663

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Columbia Professional Firefighters Local 1055 has donated $3,500 to University Hospital’s George David Peak Memorial Burn and Wound Center. Columbia firefighters raised the money during the organization’s annual golf tournament.

In 13 years of hosting the fundraiser, the Columbia Professional Firefighters Local 1055 has donated more than $38,500 to University Hospital’s burn intensive care unit.

“Firefighters put their lives on the line every day,” said Nicholas Meyer, M.D., burn surgeon at the George David Peak Memorial Burn and Wound Center at University Hospital. “We appreciate the support they provide to the burn unit and their dedicated service to our community.”

Approximately 200 burn patients are treated every year at the center. University Hospital’s state-of-the-art burn intensive care unit features 14 private intensive care rooms, an integral operating room, a specialized treatment room and a rehabilitation therapy room to meet the treatment needs of burn patients. Three full-time, fellowship-trained burn surgeons staff the unit, along with a team of nurses trained and certified in the advanced critical care of burn and wound patients.

Columbia Professional Firefighters Local 1055 was established June 28, 1950. Local 1055 is an affiliation of the International Association of Firefighters representing more than 290,000 professional firefighters in the United States and Canada.