My Time in the Gulf Coast

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Editor's note: As we mark the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we also are mindful of the recent humanitarian tragedies that have occurred in Myanmar, China, and the American Midwest. Many nurses throughout the world are involved in critical national and international relief efforts. Here is one pediatric nurse practitioner's story.

The Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005, long off the front pages of our newspapers, were brought to mind by the recent Myanmar typhoon. Delta lowlands, where the protecting wetlands have been destroyed by human activities, played a role in these “natural disasters.” So, too, did the attributes of poverty: substandard housing, transportation, and communication that increase inhabitants' vulnerability in the face of such disasters.

Today, statistics from New Orleans remain grim: the population is now 70% of pre-Katrina numbers, but there are only 19% of the buses, 42% of the day care centers, and 44% of the psychiatric beds as before the hurricane.

Today, statistics from New Orleans remain grim: the population is now 70% of pre-Katrina numbers, but there are only 19% of the buses, 42% of the day care centers, and 44% of the psychiatric beds as before the hurricane. It is estimated that 10,000 persons are homeless.

My own involvement in relief efforts in Louisiana stems from my long-standing commitment as a pediatric nurse practitioner, in addition to my interest in international health care. I joined the Peace Corps immediately after college. I taught high school biology in Ghana, West Africa. I learned that I enjoyed working in the “helping” professions and in 1984 I graduated from the Yale School of Nursing (having done research at an orphanage in Tanzania for my thesis), and since then have practiced as a PNP in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Wanting to return to international work, I then earned a Master's in Public Health (International Health and Development) from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. When I first went to New Orleans in 2002, I was told by fellow Peace Corps volunteers that I was going to the “third world” in the United States. It was an accurate description: inadequate housing, health care, schools, and judiciary. As a New Englander, I was unaware of this U.S. city where the murder rate was 10 times that of Boston and the conviction rate was 10%. There were houses that appeared to be held together by the plants growing on them and cars held together by bailing wire. Those cars and those houses were falling apart long before a storm finished them off.

When I left New Orleans in May 2003, I did not think I would ever return. I went on to volunteer in Ghana for an HIV testing and education program, to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a polio eradication campaign in Ethiopia, and to teach in a Suriname rainforest.

On the last Sunday of August 2005, I listened to my car radio in horror as Katrina bore down on the city, because I knew what could happen if New Orleans suffered a direct hit of a category five hurricane. I also knew that of the two interstates out of town, only one led to safety—the other went east toward where the storm was coming ashore.

Through my computer, I was able to watch the unfolding tragedy. I also learned that even if I could have left immediately, there was no way to directly help. By the next weekend, I had contacted the Texas Nurses Association. A hotline offered me the next shift at the Astrodome, but I was 30 hours away. I also signed up on a U.S. Public Health Service Web site, from which (months later) I was offered a 2-week volunteer position.

I made it to New Orleans in February 2006, when folks were just getting back to assess the damage in Plaquemine Parish, the county south of New Orleans on both sides of the Mississippi extending into the Gulf. It literally had been flattened by 120 mph winds followed by the storm surge of eight to 13 feet of water. The patients at our free clinic were mostly the local police force, county clean-up crews, and folks coming to assess the damage to their homes and businesses. We were the only health care available within 50 miles, and we were the first source of health care for many since the storm. Hypertension was rampant as months of stress, Meals Ready to Eat with salt levels designed for young men in Iraq, and no medications had taken their toll. Very few children were present because there were no schools, but I administered tetanus vaccines, kept records, and worked the phones to find places to refer those needing laboratory tests or eyeglasses or dental care. I slept on an old cruise liner docked in New Orleans that Tulane had rented for students. I learned how tenuous health care was at the hospital level when I spent 3 long days with a very ill colleague in an emergency department because there were no inpatient beds and very few nurses; she was air-lifted home for treatment. I soon learned that the biggest problems were lack of housing and day care for the workers in hospitals and schools.

Many of the national church organizations were setting up volunteer opportunities. I e-mailed my own church in Massachusetts and was able to return 2 weeks later with volunteers who had building expertise. I have since organized five groups, which included skilled construction folks as crew leaders. Most of the work helping homeowners who have limited resources is through volunteer groups including the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, and other church organizations. Thousands of volunteers have spent a week or more helping people return to their homes, but there is years of work left to do.

For me, I believe that one of the most important aspects of volunteering is to share my experiences back home and with you, my colleagues. I know that many of you have been involved in similar relief work activities as volunteer nurses, health care providers, and even carpenters. For those of you who wish to become more involved, the following Web sites have been helpful for me:

And if you are seeking further information, feel free to contact me at my e-mail address on the previous page. Whether you are able to volunteer on-site in distressed areas, or whether you support organizational activities in your home communities, your contributions are greatly needed and valued. Such work is a crucial part of our collective mission as health care providers. Thank you for caring.