Reply #1: Katrina pushes public health system to brink [View All]

[norml]

Katrina pushes public health system to brink
By Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. — Authorities along the Gulf Coast faced the collapse of the public health system Tuesday with water supplies sporadic, electricity shut off, hospitals closing and the threat of more injuries and infectious diseases in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Officials also warned against a variety of imminent problems, including encounters with snakes, alligators and other wildlife displaced by the flooding, and the need to minister to the mental health needs of survivors who have lost nearly all their worldly possessions.

The biggest problem they face is that modern medicine requires large amounts of electricity and there was very little available Tuesday — and for the foreseeable future.

At least 10 hospitals in New Orleans were using generator-supplied electricity, and several have already closed. State health authorities have been transporting critically ill patients out of New Orleans by boat, helicopter and bus, said Dr. Jimmy Guidry, the state health officer.


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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/nation/epaper/2005/08/31/a9a_kat_health_0831.html