Voices of Angels: Disaster Lessons from Katrina Nurses

As Hurricane Katrina barreled towards New Orleans, Louisiana, hospitals across the city prepared for the coming storm. Staff members streamed in and began stockpiling food, water, medical supplies, and fuel. But what no one foresaw was that their emergency generators would flood and fail, leaving hospitals stranded in the rising water with no air conditioning or much of their equipment and unable to evacuate patients and staff by land. Throughout the devastating winds, rising waters, and August heat, nurses stuck by their patients. They improvised new emergency procedures and methods of record-keeping and patient transport, all without power or reliable information. These angels saved lives while their world fell apart around them.

The individual voices of nurses come from six New Orleans-area hospitals—Veterans Affairs, Pendleton Memorial, Medical Center of Louisiana in New Orleans, Charity, Tulane Medical Center, and Ochsner—as well as Lambeth House retirement community and the Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge. They speak to the vital importance and ingenuity of nurses under pressure. This work examines the disaster plans used by each facility, examines what the most successful procedures were, and provides recommendations for preparing nurses for disaster response. Voices of Angels is a case study and planning guide essential for facilities facing hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, and a host of other issues that affect medical centers nationwide.

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Voices of Angels: Disaster Lessons from Katrina Nurses

As Hurricane Katrina barreled towards New Orleans, Louisiana, hospitals across the city prepared for the coming storm. Staff members streamed in and began stockpiling food, water, medical supplies, and fuel. But what no one foresaw was that their emergency generators would flood and fail, leaving hospitals stranded in the rising water with no air conditioning or much of their equipment and unable to evacuate patients and staff by land. Throughout the devastating winds, rising waters, and August heat, nurses stuck by their patients. They improvised new emergency procedures and methods of record-keeping and patient transport, all without power or reliable information. These angels saved lives while their world fell apart around them.

The individual voices of nurses come from six New Orleans-area hospitals—Veterans Affairs, Pendleton Memorial, Medical Center of Louisiana in New Orleans, Charity, Tulane Medical Center, and Ochsner—as well as Lambeth House retirement community and the Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge. They speak to the vital importance and ingenuity of nurses under pressure. This work examines the disaster plans used by each facility, examines what the most successful procedures were, and provides recommendations for preparing nurses for disaster response. Voices of Angels is a case study and planning guide essential for facilities facing hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, and a host of other issues that affect medical centers nationwide.

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Voices of Angels: Disaster Lessons from Katrina Nurses

Voices of Angels: Disaster Lessons from Katrina Nurses

by Gail Tumulty, John Batty
Voices of Angels: Disaster Lessons from Katrina Nurses

Voices of Angels: Disaster Lessons from Katrina Nurses

by Gail Tumulty, John Batty

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Overview

As Hurricane Katrina barreled towards New Orleans, Louisiana, hospitals across the city prepared for the coming storm. Staff members streamed in and began stockpiling food, water, medical supplies, and fuel. But what no one foresaw was that their emergency generators would flood and fail, leaving hospitals stranded in the rising water with no air conditioning or much of their equipment and unable to evacuate patients and staff by land. Throughout the devastating winds, rising waters, and August heat, nurses stuck by their patients. They improvised new emergency procedures and methods of record-keeping and patient transport, all without power or reliable information. These angels saved lives while their world fell apart around them.

The individual voices of nurses come from six New Orleans-area hospitals—Veterans Affairs, Pendleton Memorial, Medical Center of Louisiana in New Orleans, Charity, Tulane Medical Center, and Ochsner—as well as Lambeth House retirement community and the Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge. They speak to the vital importance and ingenuity of nurses under pressure. This work examines the disaster plans used by each facility, examines what the most successful procedures were, and provides recommendations for preparing nurses for disaster response. Voices of Angels is a case study and planning guide essential for facilities facing hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, and a host of other issues that affect medical centers nationwide.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781455621248
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date: 07/02/2015
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 240
File size: 10 MB

About the Author

Gail Tumulty was professor emeritus of the Healthcare Systems Management Graduate Nursing Program at Loyola University New Orleans, which she developed and implemented. In her long nursing and management career she received a Nursing Excellence Award from the Ochsner Foundation, a Merit Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, and an American Organization of Nurse Executives Research Scholar Award. Tumulty passed away before the publication of this book.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Introduction 11

Chapter 1 Katrina is Born 17

Chapter 2 Axes in the Attic 31

Chapter 3 Veterans Affairs Ready for Anything 47

Chapter 4 Pendleton Memorial Hospital: Closest to the Eye of the Storm 63

Chapter 5 Medical Center of Louisiana in New Orleans: A Confident Commander Weathers the Disaster 83

Chapter 6 Charity Hospital's Staff Pulls Together 101

Chapter 7 Tulane Medical Center Acts Decisively 115

Chapter 8 Ochsner Medical Center: Well Prepared and Undefeated 127

Chapter 9 Lambeth House in New Orleans Stands Tall and Strong 143

Chapter 10 Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge: No Command, No Control 153

Chapter 11 The Joint Commission Recommendations for Hospital Disasters 173

Chapter 12 Preparing Nurses for Disaster Response 187

Chapter 13 The Immediate and Long-Term Effects of the Katrina Disaster on Nurses and the city of New Orleans 199

Chapter 14 Epilogue: 10 Years After Katrina 217

Notes 224

Bibliography 231

Index 234

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