Claim: Dispatch from a physician describes conditions in New Orleans in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina.
Status: True.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2005]
Aug. 31, 2005 This is a dispatch from New Orleans from Dr. Greg Henderson, a pathologist who recently moved there from Wilmington: Thanks to all of you who have sent your notes of concern and your prayers. I am writing this note on Tuesday at Personally, my family and I are fine. My family is safe in Jackson, Miss., and I am now a temporary resident of the Ritz Carleton Hotel in 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 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 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 The biggest question to all of us is where is the National Guard. We hear jet fignters and helicopters, but o 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 rebuild 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. Greg Henderson |
Origins: In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina's assault on Louisiana, reliable bulletins of what was going on in
The text being circulated on the Internet was indeed an
On 3 September 2005, Dr. Henderson supplied this update to his original
1. thanks for all your letters of support and prayers and offers to help. 2. i am safe, and now based at the Sheraton hotel where we have a new makeshift clinic established. 3. the situation at the convention center is urgent and disastrous = 10-20 thousand people in dire need of health care from minor to severe. A small MASH unit was established there last night. I will be joining them today - I desparately need the help of as many medically trained individuals as possible to triage these patients, treat if necessary, and evacuate - only the most serious will be seen at the MASH 4. i need to figure out how to set up a morgue. there are several dead at the convention center 5. some supplies are ariving today courtesy of Fred Eschelman and PPD Inc of north carolina - I will get these supplies to the convention center as soon as they arrive. 6. i need mobile dialysis units - thousands haven't been dialysed in over a week. 7. i can be reached pretty well on my cell phone at [number deleted]. now is the time to act - i need help - i haven't found any other physicians in the field yet and i can only do so much 9. Ochsner is the only fully functional facility in the city - they are effectively taking care of all of their patients and offering extrordinary help, an lots of supplies - i am proud to be part of this organization. Greg Henderson
I am replying to all of your letters of prayers and support in this way in the interests of time.
Dr. Henderson urges medical personnel of any type, doctors, nurses, EMTs, even people with basic first aid training, to come to the Sheraton Hotel on Canal Street from anywhere in the country.
Barbara "come to heal" Mikkelson
Last updated: 5 September 2005
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