NICU Care in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: 5 Years of Changes

Abstract

Geographic circumstances: I was on duty in the NICU of a flooded downtown New Orleans hospital during Hurricane Katrina and returned to the NICU when it reopened. About the author: I am a professor of pediatrics and the division head of neonatology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. With 7 dedicated and resilient colleagues, I practice neonatology at 4 area hospitals and am active in medical education. I spent 4 days in a flooded downtown New Orleans hospital immediately after Hurricane Katrina and have been involved in the evolution of hospital, local, and statewide hurricane-preparedness efforts as they relate to NICU patients. When I entered University Hospital on August 28, 2005, I did not realize how much the events of the next few days would change my life both personally and professionally. As division head of our 12-person Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) neonatology group, I was assigned to be the in-house attending at University Hospital; several of my colleagues were similarly moving into 1 of the other 8 local hospitals in which we provided neonatology care. University Hospital was the site for maternal-child services of the modern-day Charity Hospital, a series of hospitals that had survived various floods and fires over the years to provide indigent care in New Orleans dating back to 1736. The following morning, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina would arrive and bring a massive storm surge that would breach an inferior levee system. More than 80% of New Orleans was covered by floodwater, including the area surrounding University Hospital. Katrina's wrath resulted in more than 1800 deaths and more than $80 billion in damage, and the greater New Orleans area was the site for most of these losses, including more than 700 deaths. The experiences and losses of thousands … Address correspondence to Brian M. Barkemeyer, MD, Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, LSU Health Sciences Center, 200 Henry Clay Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118. E-mail: bbarke{at}lsuhsc.edu