New Orleans

Universal Health Systems is drawing heavy fire for its plan to shut three hospitals in the New Orleans area and lay off workers. Health care workers at Chalmette Medical Centers stayed with patients for nearly a week during Hurricane Katrina. They've now been told by administrators that they will receive pay for two weeks and will receive health benefits through the end of the month. Nearly 3,000 health care workers at three hospitals in the area are affected. Dr Lee Domangue, the …

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 …

As order returns to New Orleans after last week's devastation, the grim job of collecting and identifying the dead has begun. One Houston-based company is at the center of the effort. Kenyon International Emergency Services is the sole contractor retained by the government to help clean up following catastrophic events. The disaster management specialist has plenty of expertise; it led the ID efforts following the Asian Tsunamis. Thus far, Kenyon is handling collection only and not the identification effort. Story

In Hurricane Katrina's wake the inquests are beginning after the tragic failure to get help to where it was needed, especially in New Orleans. For healthcare organizations there are some immediate lessons. What is your disaster plan, and is it good enough to sustain you for several days in a potentially lawless environment, with no outside power or supplies? Do you have an evacuation …

The public health effort in the states damaged by Katrina pressed on over the weekend. HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt declared a federal public health emergency in Texas, the state which has accepted the most refugees from New Orleans and its neighbors. HHS said it has shipped 90,000 doses of tetanus vaccine, 22,000 doses of Hepatitis A vaccine and 36,000 doses of Hepatitis B vaccine. Much media attention focused on Louis Armstrong International airport, where thousands of patients have been …

We have all been shaken by the devastation in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. After a couple of days to reflect, three thoughts come to my mind. First has been the absolute heroism of healthcare workers in New Orleans and those helping from neighboring areas. The tales of nurses, doctors and other workers keeping patients alive by hand-pumping ventilators and performing near-miracles …

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 …