News from New Orleans

[Guest guest]

Forwarded from a staff member at Emory University visiting New Orleans...

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This was forwarded to me by a WMU staff psychologist whose physician friend is

in New Orleans

August 31, 2005

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 , 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

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Serena

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