Aftermath as Disaster: An Evaluation of Disaster Capitalism and The Evolution of Healthcare Delivery in New Orleans 15 Years After Katrina

Abstract

While Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the city of New Orleans has been discussed at length, what remains under discussed is how Hurricane Katrina’s initial destruction was only one part of a protracted disaster that unfolded. The closure of Charity Hospital, described herein through the lens of disaster capitalism, resulted in a concentration of ill-fated consequences for marginalized communities in New Orleans, the effects of which are longstanding. The various sociopolitical maneuvers state officials used to keep Charity Hospital closed— in favor of building a new hospital—should serve as a cautionary tale for communities under the ever-increasing threat of natural disasters secondary to climate change; safety net hospitals like Charity are subject to predatory disaster capitalism that puts the health and safety of the communities they serve at risk. The first iteration of what would become Charity Hospital— L'Hospital des Pauvres de la Charite—was founded in the French colony of New Orleans with funds bequeathed by Jean Louis for treatment of the colony’s indigent in 17361;(2) fires, hurricanes, and the need for more space forced a series of several moves and rebuilds over the hospital’s history until a sixth and final iteration in 1939 resulted in a twenty story, Art Deco-styled hospital located at 1532 Tulane Ave housing over 2,680 beds.(1-4) The hospital came under public control after the Louisiana Department of Health assumed control from the Sisters of Charity in 1970.(4) Eventually, Charity’s operation was turned over to the Louisiana Health Care Authority (LHCA) in 1991, the state’s network of public safety-net hospitals described as a “holdover remnant of Keynesian New Deal-era policies”5 before ownership of this system was transferred to the Louisiana State University (LSU) system in 1997. While its position as one of the nation’s oldest hospitals alone is noteworthy, it is also Charity Hospital’s sustained function as a hospital of last resort for the region’s poor and underserved amidst a variety of operational changes that makes Charity Hospital’s history unique. The landfall of Hurricane Katrina brought an end to this legacy and irreversibly changed healthcare delivery for the entirety of New Orleans.