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Courage Amid Catastrophe
Through deeds great and small, nurses defy the enormity of the Katrina disaster.
by Wendy L. Bonifazi, RN, CLS, APR, and Carrie Farella, RN, MA
It’s impossible to grasp the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, say those who were there, unless you were there, too. Even then, your comprehension is limited to where you were — New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi, or any of many other devastated communities.
Anguish turned to agony after the hurricane struck Aug. 29, as tens of thousands of citizens were stranded amid ghastly conditions. Hospital evacuations were disrupted by reports of armed thugs trying to hijack rescue aircraft. As the death toll mounted, pleas for help became accusations of disaster mismanagement.
Towns and cities that were spared direct damage began doubling or even tripling in population with the influx of displaced people — many bringing health needs, but most without their medical records, medicines, and supplies.
Nurses are in the thick of the disaster, maintaining hospital services, tending the ill and injured, and rushing to the rescue via disaster teams, the Red Cross, and other relief agencies. Here are some of their stories. |
‘If we stay, someone will die’
Before the storm, Geshia Hohbach, RN, called for the complete evacuation of the behavioral health department at Methodist Hospital in New Orleans. She just had a feeling things were going to be bad. |
Long-term relationships
Long-term care facilities also faced evacuation challenges. Michael Fasone, RN, and the rest of the staff evacuated 208 elders from New Orleans’ Lambeth House, a continuing care retirement community. |
A tiny ‘city,’ all on its own
Ochsner Clinic Foundation, located above sea level, is among several New Orleans hospitals that have remained open. Staff on the A-team were supposed to work 12-hour shifts for seven days, until they were relieved by Team B. Many worked longer, including Nancy Davis, RN, MN, MA. |
Then came the water
As part of a disaster activation team, Glenn Harris, RN, was prepared for a catastrophe — but not, as he puts it, for the “overwhelming feeling that all hope is gone.” |
‘No place to go’
Before Disaster Medical Assistance Teams can move into place to provide care, a five-member strike team is on the scene. Nancy Eubanks, RN, MS, LP, is on the TX-3 DMAT strike team now in Louisiana. |
Trying to save everyone
Lisa Richey, RN, was among eight nurses to be airlifted to Slidell Memorial Hospital in far eastern Louisiana. One day after the storm, she got her first look at Katrina’s devastation from the Blackhawk helicopter that dropped her onto the hospital’s helipad. |
A place of safety
As an 11-year veteran of ED nursing, Nicky Tidwell, RN, is accustomed to starting IVs. But this was the first time she started one on a colleague. |
‘My heart is broken’
The day after Katrina, Jason Peterson, RN, was in flight as Children’s Hospital of Alabama teams began evacuating 16 adults and nine babies. The following account is in part adapted from Peterson’s e-mail messages, with his permission. |
On the tarmac, in pitch black
Carmen Roberts, RN, CCRN, routinely transports patients — but one at a time, not the groups that Texas Children’s Hospital’s “Kangaroo Crews” (a nurse, physician, and respiratory therapist) evacuated after Katrina. |
Restoring connections
During the storm, Elizabeth F. Fuselier, RN, NP, was responsible for Ochsner’s Category 1 special needs patients and their evacuation. She boarded her first evacuation flight not as staff, but as family, supporting a close relative hospitalized with severe respiratory problems. Eight days after the storm, she spent her relief time collecting supplies. |
‘The last thing they can hold on to’
After leaving New Orleans before Katrina hit, Evelyn Hunter, RN, made the five-hour drive back from Texas to join Ochsner’s B-team. As a nursing student, “I thought I’d die” during Hurricane Betsy in 1965, she says. She was stuck in a hospital’s bathroom wearing a hardhat after winds tore off the roof. |
A long haul for health
Even before the hurricane struck, the Red Cross was readying record numbers of shelters, supplies, and volunteers. Dee Yeater, RN, guided them. |
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Wendy L. Bonifazi, RN, CLS, APR, is a senior staff writer and
Carrie Farella, RN, MA, is a contributing editor for Nursing Spectrum. |
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