First, this is my recollection of a conversation i had tonite with a good friend. We worked for the same hospital for about 8 years and i know him well. His views are very credible as he was in the middle of the poo storm that was Katrina. This isn't meant to demean or underscore anyones experiences over any others but rather is my attempt to pass along what was communicated to me. Any errors or ommisions in this are my own. I pray for all directly or indirectly involved in this conflagration.
This person is (was) the CEO of a hospital in St Bernard Parish. His house is in the New Orleans parish and near as he can figure is a total loss. Can't really tell from satellite photos but he figures its under about 14' of water still today. His roof is the only part which is visable. We didn't discuss time frames etc of occurances as he is still very shook up. He basically lost his home, and his job but the important part, him and his family, escaped without physical harm. He is back here in my town, where he used to work. Friends have put him up until he figures out what to do.
His first comment was about his employees at the hospital. He had major kudos to the Docs, support staff and especially the nurses, who risked life and limb to take care of their patients for several days after the cane and flood. The only marginal relief from the heat and humidity was on the roof of their hospital. The staff worked inside, 24/7, to keep all non-evacuated patients alive and as comfortable as possible without regard to their own dire & unknown personal situations. Many of the more ambulatory patients were moved before the floods really took hold but the first two floor basically ended up underwater. These floors contained many key portions and functions of the hospital. ER, ICU, OR suites, materials management and more importantly the generators were underwater so no power for A/C etc was available. After several days of this, Chinooks (big National Guard helos) showed up without notice and evacuated the remaining patients and personnel. He was on the last one out, still wondering if his family was okay. A better example of leadership from the front i can't think of right now. I am really proud of him and hope his world takes a better turn real soon.
Next, he felt very compelled to discuss his views of what went wrong in this whole CF. On the bottom of his "blame list" if you want to call it that, is the federal government. Remember, this is the CEO of a major hospital in the middle of this poo storm. He was responsible for all the patients & employees in the place. Not a light burden by any stretch of the imagination. Anyway, he feels that local & state gov carry a much greater burden of any responsibility for the way things came down than the fed. A much different picture than is currently being projected by our national media. An interesting observation to say the least. I can't really speak to his reasons as he didn't really expand on them but i for one will take his views over most of the stuff i have seen in the media. He lived it, they didn't.
Lastly, he is pretty sure his hospital is a total loss and won't be rebuilt or repaired. Still to early to tell on that but initial estimates confirm his suspicions. The main point is he couldn't talk enough about his people who persevered to minimize loss of life at risk of their own. Something that should be concentrated on much harder right now than pursuing the blame game. The human spirit is alive and well in the South today. A good thing for all to remember.
Semper Fi
This person is (was) the CEO of a hospital in St Bernard Parish. His house is in the New Orleans parish and near as he can figure is a total loss. Can't really tell from satellite photos but he figures its under about 14' of water still today. His roof is the only part which is visable. We didn't discuss time frames etc of occurances as he is still very shook up. He basically lost his home, and his job but the important part, him and his family, escaped without physical harm. He is back here in my town, where he used to work. Friends have put him up until he figures out what to do.
His first comment was about his employees at the hospital. He had major kudos to the Docs, support staff and especially the nurses, who risked life and limb to take care of their patients for several days after the cane and flood. The only marginal relief from the heat and humidity was on the roof of their hospital. The staff worked inside, 24/7, to keep all non-evacuated patients alive and as comfortable as possible without regard to their own dire & unknown personal situations. Many of the more ambulatory patients were moved before the floods really took hold but the first two floor basically ended up underwater. These floors contained many key portions and functions of the hospital. ER, ICU, OR suites, materials management and more importantly the generators were underwater so no power for A/C etc was available. After several days of this, Chinooks (big National Guard helos) showed up without notice and evacuated the remaining patients and personnel. He was on the last one out, still wondering if his family was okay. A better example of leadership from the front i can't think of right now. I am really proud of him and hope his world takes a better turn real soon.
Next, he felt very compelled to discuss his views of what went wrong in this whole CF. On the bottom of his "blame list" if you want to call it that, is the federal government. Remember, this is the CEO of a major hospital in the middle of this poo storm. He was responsible for all the patients & employees in the place. Not a light burden by any stretch of the imagination. Anyway, he feels that local & state gov carry a much greater burden of any responsibility for the way things came down than the fed. A much different picture than is currently being projected by our national media. An interesting observation to say the least. I can't really speak to his reasons as he didn't really expand on them but i for one will take his views over most of the stuff i have seen in the media. He lived it, they didn't.
Lastly, he is pretty sure his hospital is a total loss and won't be rebuilt or repaired. Still to early to tell on that but initial estimates confirm his suspicions. The main point is he couldn't talk enough about his people who persevered to minimize loss of life at risk of their own. Something that should be concentrated on much harder right now than pursuing the blame game. The human spirit is alive and well in the South today. A good thing for all to remember.
Semper Fi
