The Missing Link

February 06, 2006

New Orleans Faces Hospital Crisis

Among the 7 hospitals in New Orleans only two are open, leading to a crisis in health care, the N.O. Times Picayune reports:

With the bulk of New Orleans' hospitals shuttered after major damage from Hurricane Katrina, open medical centers are packed with patients as the suburbs shoulder the region's health care in the face of rapid repopulation, staffing shortages, diminished capacity and reduced services.

Add to that Carnival and the onslaught of flu season, and the combination could wallop an already strained system where lengthy emergency room waits are now the norm, hospital officials said. Patients are spending nights in emergency rooms, and ambulances often are diverted elsewhere because hospitals are filled, officials said.

"The health care system in our region is jammed to the gills," said John "Jack" Finn, president of the Metropolitan Hospital Council of New Orleans.

"If we have a bad flu season or a good Mardi Gras, we're going to have way more patients than we can handle," said Dr. Mark Peters, president and CEO of East Jefferson Medical Center.

The rebuilding effort also is taking a toll, Peters said, noting that many injuries are the result of construction accidents. The influx of contractors and aid workers from outside the metropolitan area who don't have local health care providers also stresses the system when they seek treatment.

"I think it's a crisis now," Peters said. "This isn't an East Jefferson problem, it's not an Ochsner problem or a Touro problem. It's a health care problem for our region."

If you were thinking about going to Mardi Gras this ought to be a consideration.

Posted by Conor at February 6, 2006 02:35 AM