JCAHO says New Orleans health care system "devastated"

Inspectors from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations toured hospitals in New Orleans over the weekend. Their report: "essentially the health care infrastructure of New Orleans is gone--it doesn't exist." According to JCAHO vice president Joe Capiello none of the city's 12 hospitals appears to be in any state to be accredited. That may pose serious challenges as residents move back in, some observers predict. 

Others fear that hospitals worried about their financial survival may rush to reopen too quickly. Some local critics think the argument is a pointless one. "I don't believe the people in New Orleans or the doctors give a hoot whether they accredit our hospitals or not," says former city health director Brobson Lutz.

- see this story from the AP

PLUS: Heat, not flooding, may have been the most deadly killer at hospitals in the New Orleans area over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, FEMA is now denying charges made by several hospital chains that it blocked private relief efforts. Story  

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