charity hospital

Advocates of electronic medical records continued to point at the chaos in New Orleans as evidence of how important it is for hospitals to make the transition to digital records. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt told an audience in Washington, DC, that EMR technology would have avoided many of the problems now being experienced by the healthcare system on the Gulf Coast. "If there was ever a case for (electronic health records), this disaster underscores the need," Leavitt …

It was a day of tragedy as hospitals throughout New Orleans found themselves caught up in the anarchy that descended on the city Thursday. Evacuations stalled at nearly all facilities in the city with the exception of Tulane Medical Center, which was able to airlift many of its patients to safety. At University Hospital, doctors and patients remained trapped only blocks from the Louisiana Superdome.

Doctors from Charity Hospital called the Associated Press to beg for help, saying …

Emergency teams, doctors and aid workers from across the country descended on New Orleans and surrounding areas yesterday as the extent of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina became clear. Hospitals in the area, of course, have been on the front line since Sunday. As plans to fully evacuate New Orleans were announced, the Louisiana Hospital Association said more than 10,000 people, including staff and dependents, are waiting to be evacuated from downtown hospitals. Hospital Association …

As flood waters caused by Hurricane Katrina continued to rise this morning, the governor of Louisiana ordered the complete evacuation of New Orleans. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said that 2,500 patients at Hospitals in Orleans Parish, including 300 at Charity Hospital, are being evacuated. Some hospitals, like the famed Oschner Clinic, continued to operate, receiving patients delivered by boat rather than ambulance. As the slow motion disaster played out, authorities …