FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, paramedics and mental health experts from Florida are heading to New York to work in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy.

More than 40 medical professionals from Broward and Palm Beach counties were dispatched Monday as part of a federally coordinated disaster medical assistance team. They’ll spend up to two weeks working in New York City shelters and hospitals.

The South Florida team is part of the National Disaster Medical System. Members of that system respond as needed to provide first aid, triage, medical care and surgery in areas hit by disasters or caring for casualties evacuated to the U.S. from armed conflicts overseas.

The South Florida team formed in 1994 and includes members from hospitals and fire-rescue departments in Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

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