"once their patients die off"...I think I would agree that many of the initial victims will perish, but the drastically altered circumstances will be generating new patients, perhaps in very large numbers, due to degraded sanitation, environmental exposure, trauma from cleanup efforts, inadequate diet, psychological reaction to stress - you name it.

Have there been any historical instances of "surplus" medical personnel in disaster situations? I haven't heard of any, but I certainly haven't really considered the issue....