Heroic efforts made at Charity hospital to save patients
07:14 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Associated Press
As floodwaters rose around Charity Hospital, nurses hand-pumped ventilators for patients who couldn't breathe. Helicopters landed on the garage to airlift critically ill babies. Doctors canoed supplies to and from Charity and three nearby hospitals.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
To the complainers I say - shut up, get off your duff and head in there - go help and then see if you can still complain, then help them design it better so that preparation and rescue are carried out in a more efficient manner in the future. Standing around B**ching about it does no one any good at all and expends energy that would be better directed at DOING SOMETHING. Quit talking and walk! Be the problem or be the solution.
To just "head in there" is probably the WORST thing anyone can do. To offer to help at forward locations or donate money or blood, would be a wiser, safer move. They can't deal w/people just showing up, even if they can, to help. Logistic nightmare, not to mention totally and completely unsafe.
I filled out the form at texasnurses.org, but it does not seem to be working. It won't submit. Do you have a telephone # I can call? If you know of any medical teams getting together in the DFW area please send me a PM.
I am a Scrub tech. Right now I am a traveller between assignments just spending time with my fiance in IN so I am ready to go!
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
calm down----you are getting really heated up. and i do not blame you. but remember, when people feel stressed, or helpless, it's typical to react by complaining or "replaying the situation in slow-mow" as to how things could have/should have gone better.
the old flies w/honey phrase would apply here-----in urging others to help, try a bit of kindness. those wanting to help, i urge you visit the current events forum. spacenurse has provided some excellent links for us to visit to help out in some way. anyone can read the current events threads, so go an have a look.
lets not rip each other apart here-----it's to counter-productive and at a time like this, we should pull together, not be hard on one another. the images are traumatizing an entire nation-----surely nothing compared to those living in the midst of this nature-made hell......still..............
cut some people some slack. some of us, even 1000s of miles away, have lost sleep over the images we have in our minds (i know i have not slept a complete night since sunday, when i was wishing they could just forcibly evacuate every citizen of no)-----and we are sickened by the whole situation facing our countrymen in the south. action and help will come, but let us all deal w/the shock and trauma of it, too. thanks.
particularly at a time like this, attacking/flaming each other on these boards can not be tolerated. thanks for understanding, everyone.
Im not heated up at all! I just find it exttremely discouraging that people can complain about what others are or are not perceivedly doing when they are not IN a situation. Sort of like arm chair quarterbacking - I know it's human nature, but it's wasted energy.
If you want to go in and help physically, the call is out for volunteers to go in with organized medical teams. I have already received 2 e-mails about this from both texasnp.org and texasnurses.org. I am working on getting things cleared so I can go this week or next week.
It is likely that nobody will be going into New Orleans proper except for highly trained military disaster medical teams. I feel so sorry for those people stuck at the hospitals they work at and if people on the ground are firing shots at choppers, there is no telling when they will get those patients and staff out.
Yes the monetary donations and blood drives and clothing and supply drives are critical too - I'm not discounting those. And the red cross here has already put out a call for help for people to come answer phones and sort and box supplies. You don't have to travel to the zone so to speak to volunteer - you can do that anywhere. Thats what I meant by "Head in There"
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Im not heated up at all! I just find it exttremely discouraging that people can complain about what others are or are not perceivedly doing when they are not IN a situation. Sort of like arm chair quarterbacking - I know it's human nature, but it's wasted energy.
If you want to go in and help physically, the call is out for volunteers to go in with organized medical teams. I have already received 2 e-mails about this from both texasnp.org and texasnurses.org. I am working on getting things cleared so I can go this week or next week.
It is likely that nobody will be going into New Orleans proper except for highly trained military disaster medical teams. I feel so sorry for those people stuck at the hospitals they work at and if people on the ground are firing shots at choppers, there is no telling when they will get those patients and staff out.
Yes the monetary donations and blood drives and clothing and supply drives are critical too - I'm not discounting those. And the red cross here has already put out a call for help for people to come answer phones and sort and box supplies. You don't have to travel to the zone so to speak to volunteer - you can do that anywhere. Thats what I meant by "Head in There"
I hear you----like I said, those who want to help can visit the CE threads. There are a bunch of links telling us how/where we can respond to help out the most. Many of us live 1000s of miles away who can't PHYSICALLY help----but money DOES help. So does giving blood at times like this. If that is what someone can do, it's everything to those in need.
Yes the monetary donations and blood drives and clothing and supply drives are critical too - I'm not discounting those. And the red cross here has already put out a call for help for people to come answer phones and sort and box supplies. You don't have to travel to the zone so to speak to volunteer - you can do that anywhere. Thats what I meant by "Head in There"
Yes.. I agree.... no helpful act is considered too small, no contribution to the help effort is wasted.
Deb, amen to that... those of us who simply have nothing else to offer have blood in our veins. Life saving blood.
I received this from a friend, and thought I would pass it along.
"From reader Shank:
I work at a hospital in southeastern NC, and one of our pathologists relocated to NO a while back. He's holed up in the Ritz Carlton on Canal street and sent this missive.
He asked if to pass it along, so here it is.
Thanks to all of you who have sent your notes of concern and your prayers. I am writing this note on Tuesday at 2 p.m.. I wanted to update all of you as to the situation here. I don't know how much information you are getting but I am certain it is more than we are getting. Be advised that almost everything I am telling you is from direct observation or rumor from reasonable sources. They are allowing limited internet access, so I hope to send this dispatch today.
Personally, my family and I are fine. My family is safe in Jackson, Miss., and I am now a temporary resident of the Ritz Carleton Hotel in New Orleans. I figured if it was my time to go, I wanted to go in a place with a good wine list. In addition, this hotel is in a very old building on Canal Street that could and did sustain little damage. Many of the other hotels sustained significant loss of windows, and we expect that many of the guests may be evacuated here.
Things were obviously bad yesterday, but they are much worse today. Overnight the water arrived. Now Canal Street (true to its origins) is indeed a canal. The first floor of all downtown buildings is underwater. I have heard that Charity Hospital and Tulane are limited in their ability to care for patients because of water. Ochsner is the only hospital that remains fully functional. However, I spoke with them today and they too are on generator and losing food and water fast.
The city now has no clean water, no sewerage system, no electricity, and no real communications. Bodies are still being recovered floating in the floods. We are worried about a cholera epidemic. Even the police are without effective communications. We have a group of armed police here with us at the hotel that is admirably trying to exert some local law enforcement. This is tough because looting is now rampant. Most of it is not malicious looting. These are poor and desperate people with no housing and no medical care and no food or water trying to take care of themselves and their families.
Unfortunately, the people are armed and dangerous. We hear gunshots frequently. Most of Canal street is occupied by armed looters who have a low threshold for discharging their weapons. We hear gunshots frequently. The looters are using makeshift boats made of pieces of styrofoam to access. We are still waiting for a significant national guard presence.
The health care situation here has dramatically worsened overnight. Many people in the hotel are elderly and small children. Many other guests have unusual diseases. ... There are (Infectious Disease) physicians in at this hotel attending an HIV confection. We have commandered the world famous French Quarter Bar to turn into an makeshift clinic. There is a team of about seven doctors and PAs and pharmacists. We anticipate that this will be the major medical facility in the central business district and French Quarter.
Our biggest adventure today was raiding the Walgreens on Canal under police escort. The pharmacy was dark and full of water. We basically scooped the entire drug sets into garbage bags and removed them. All under police excort. The looters had to be held back at gunpoint. After a dose of prophylactic Cipro I hope to be fine.
In all we are faring well. We have set up a hospital in the the French Qarter bar in the hotel, and will start admitting patients today. Many will be from the hotel, but many will not. We are anticipating dealing with multiple medical problems, medications and and acute injuries. Infection and perhaps even cholera are anticipated major problems. Food and water shortages are imminent.
The biggest question to all of us is where is the National Guard. We hear jet fignters and helicopters, but no real armed presence, and hence the rampant looting. There is no Red Cross and no Salvation Army.
In a sort of cliché way, this is an edifying experience. One is rapidly focused away from the transient and material to the bare necessities of life. It has been challenging to me to learn how to be a primary care phyisican. We are under martial law so return to our homes is impossible. I don't know how long it will be and this is my greatest fear. Despite it all, this is a soul-edifying experience. The greatest pain is to think about the loss. And how long the rebuid will take. And the horror of so many dead people . PLEASE SEND THIS DISPATCH TO ALL YOU THING MAY BE INTERSTED IN A DISPATCH from the front. I will send more according to your interest. Hopefully their collective prayers will be answered. By the way, suture packs, sterile gloves and stethoscopes will be needed as the Ritz turns into a MASH."
I'm from so. CA, and am trying desparately to get out to any of the devastated areas. I don't care if I work in a tent, a superdome, a shelter. Have called my local Red Cross as well as the LA Disaster Preparedness people. Once I got through (took over an hour), then transferred to the medical section where I was told that yes, they are desparate for nurses. My name and number was taken with promises of being called (also by Red Cross).
I will contact my CNA today to see what further steps need to be taken. ANY other suggestions? If enough voluteers from specific areas of the nation are willing and able, any thoughts of going in organized groups (only with the specific instructions from LA or RC of course). Victoria
I just find it exttremely discouraging that people can complain about what others are or are not perceivedly doing when they are not IN a situation. Sort of like arm chair quarterbacking - I know it's human nature, but it's wasted energy. 
SmilingBluEyes
20,964 Posts
To just "head in there" is probably the WORST thing anyone can do. To offer to help at forward locations or donate money or blood, would be a wiser, safer move. They can't deal w/people just showing up, even if they can, to help. Logistic nightmare, not to mention totally and completely unsafe.