http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/katrina/stories/090805dnmetkatmedical.23aa63e.htmlThey arrived needing wounds cleaned, prescriptions renewed, and sleep. One man had escaped with his jaws wired shut.
An infant – whose mother had died on a bus between New Orleans and Houston – was in the throes of an asthma attack.Now, medical experts in Dallas and other cities taking in Hurricane Katrina evacuees are preparing for the most daunting task:
ongoing care for thousands of new patients with heart disease and high blood pressure, diabetes, AIDS, mental illness and other medical issues that, while not an immediate crisis, are life-threatening nonetheless. Dr. Buhner estimated that, so far, about 20 percent of the 4,000 evacuees processed through the clinic appear to have some kind of chronic medical condition. The clinic, which was an empty parking garage on Friday morning, now sees about 500 patients a day – more than twice the number that pass through the Parkland Memorial Hospital emergency room.
About 20 to 30 people have been identified as needing kidney dialysis. Many women need prenatal care;
one woman already delivered her baby at the site. Medical records were nonexistent.
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