As Hurrican Gustav came ashore in Louisiana, as everyone knows, there was so much concern about New Orleans. Dr Sanjay Gupta, CNNs medical correspondant, was there covering the medical aspect of the coming hurricane. One of the things that was mentioned in these reports was the fact that Charity Hospital has never reopened. You will recall that this was the hospital in which people died as they waited to be evacuated.
This was a huge hospital that saw 1,000,000 patients in the ER facilities in a year! An unbelieveable number. Imagine a hospital that saw that many patients gone...According to statistics I have seen, 85% of the people who used the hospital had NO insurance - that means no medicaid, medicare, private insurance, nothing.
Charity was THE level one trauma center in New Orleans. Another one was not established until February 2006.
The basement of the building was flooded and apparently the rest of this massive hospital is in good shape. Why hasn't it been reopened? Government officials think that it should be rebuilt. Apparently this is a political hot potato down there. Some people have viewed Katrina as an opportunity to get rid of thousands of units of public housing and it makes sense they would not want to reopen a hospital in which taxpayers foot the entire bill. Meanwhile, those with no insurance suffer. Along with the hospital closing over 100 clinics that served the poor also closed.
In 2005, in the aftermath of hurrican Katrina and Rita an organization was formed called RNRN. It sends RN volunteers to disaster areas to assist where they are needed most. Nurses have done great things in New Orleans, things you don't hear about. For example: Alice Kraft-Kearney, RN and Patricia Berryhill, RN founded the Lower 9th Ward Health Clinic from Berryhill’s personal home of over 30 years where she raised her children and prepared meals for the local football team. The home was flooded to the rooftop and completely rehabbed with help from community volunteers to form the now pristine free health clinic. Here is a description:
"Families need access to primary healthcare. With no government effort to provide a local place for primary healthcare needs, residents established their own clinic in the donated home of a nurse who helps run the clinic. With a few volunteers, staff are providing free basic healthcare to the families returning to the community, but their needs are great. Treating a wide range of conditions, staff are also seeing many respiratory illnesses as a result of the flood. This small clinic is serving many families and children but needs more equipment and resources to better serve the community." Think about giving. Go HERE to do so. You can also join the RNRN network, sponsored by the California Nurses Association.
4 comments:
New Orleans was told over ten years ago that they would have to upgrade Charity by 2008 in order to maintain JACHO standards. Then when the hurricane hit N.O officials attempted to have FIMA pay for the rebuilding, instead of using the state income. Why do I know this? I was deployed there for two months, working in the Convention Center providing care...Just an FYI. But I do think the RNRN group is great. I wish I could volunteer but not until I am off of active duty.
~m
I am from New Orleans and a nurse. Charity's building was sub-standard and outdated prior to Katrina and the storm ruined more than the basement. There was structural damage from flooding as well as the interior that was trashed during the storm. There aren't any funds to rebuild the structure up to today's standards because quite frankly it was a free hospital that never made a dime and the state doesn't have the resources to rebuild it. They are feverishly looking for solutions and it is a difficult task at hand. They have re-opened University Hospital just down the street which didn't suffer quite as much damage from the storm and was a newer structure but it is too small to service the population of New Orleans who felt that they deserved freebie medical care, yeah, those people who never helped the cause but only demanded free health care. You can only service those who want help and who attempt to aid the cause. When the population you serve feels entitled, you are spread thin and worn out. Only the reality of New Orleans and the inner city population it serviced. So sad.
Charity hospital or, more acurately MCLNO was a hell hole when I worked there in 1998. Roaches everywhere. Only ward room (with 10 patients seperated by curtains). There were no supplies available to care for the sick people. And THESE were sick people. Yes, many of them expected free care and many of them were the dregs of society. However, if you had serious trauma in New Orleans that WAS the place to go. I worked in the ER as an RN and I am pretty sure that more of my staff members carried than patients. And they needed to. They shouldn't reopen that place.
thanks for your input
Post a Comment