Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and high blood pressure. One patient presented
with a gunshot wound to the arm. On the
fourth day of operation, physicians began to see
quite a few pediatric patients with some type
of gastrointestinal infection that caused diarrhea
and vomiting, presumably from exposure to the
contaminated water in New Orleans. The infection
was transmitted to several hundred people before
physicians identified the cause as the Norwalk
virus and promptly provided treatment. As the
number of acute care cases decreased, evacuees
at the Astrodome began requesting assistance for
more mundane medical needs, such as prescription
eyeglasses or other minor complaints for which
they could not seek care in New Orleans because
of a lack of health insurance.
As patients continued to pour into Katrina
Clinic, Houston's mayor requested that a second
clinic be opened at the George R. Brown Conven-
tion Center. Physicians from the University of
Texas Health Science Center in Houston staffed
this site. It processed 500 to 700 evacuees each
day, for a total of more than 9,000 patients.
Katrina Clinic remained open for 2
1
/
2
weeks at a
cost of $4.1 million. After it closed down, the Red
Cross established an outpost at the site to deliver
first aid to evacuees.
Thomas Gavagan, M.D., MPH served as the
primary source of information for this case study.
cists, respiratory therapists, and allied health care
workers.
Kathy J. Rinnert, M.D., MPH, assistant
professor of emergency medicine at UT South-
western Medical Center in Dallas and attending
physician at Parkland Health and Hospital Systems
and Raymond Fowler, M.D., associate professor of
emergency medicine at UT Southwestern Medical
Center and deputy medical director for operations
and quality assurance for the Dallas Area Bio Tel
(EMS) System, both served as medical directors of
the site. More than one hundred physicians from
UT Southwestern as well as medical staff from
Parkland Health and Hospital Systems, Children's
Medical Center of Dallas, Methodist Hospital of
Dallas, Medical City Hospital, and Baylor Medical
Center worked up to 20-hour days to care for the
sick and injured. The site was staffed locally with
no support from out-of-state medical volunteers.
Facilities included an 11-bed urgent care center
and a 20-bed chronic care center.
The 8,200-square-foot surge facility was open
from September 1 through September 16. Faculty,
staff, residents, and medical students treated more
than 4,000 evacuees during the first week alone,
and a total of roughly 8,600 patients over the 16
days of operation. The medical staff treated not
only patients from the shelter set up at the site, but
also those from other shelters and hotels in Dallas.
Wounds were the principle injuries seen during
the first three days, followed by gastrointestinal
disorders, and then acute exacerbations of chronic
medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and
cardiovascular problems.
Located one sub-basement level down from
the main floor, the facility shared space with
an evacuee shelter ringed by a variety of social
service agencies, such as the Red Cross, the
Salvation Army, and the Texas State Child
Protective Services Agency. Medical equipment,
supplies, and pharmaceuticals came from the
local medical community, primarily Children's
Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital
Systems, the largest contributor. Telephones,
copiers, fax machines, and other office equipment
were provided by the City of Dallas.
Case Study 2: Dallas Convention Center
Physicians, employees, and students from the
University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical
Center at Dallas began gearing up their relief efforts
even before Hurricane Katrina evacuees started
pouring into Dallas. They established a medical
command center at the Dallas Convention Center,
where they set up a surge facility. The site for the
facility was chosen by officials from the City of
Dallas Office of Emergency Management and the
city fire marshal's office, Dallas Fire-Rescue.
In Dallas, faculty and employees from UT
Southwestern volunteered in large numbers,
working at Reunion Arena and the Dallas Conven-
tion Center to help with the relief effort. Volunteers
included physicians as well as nurses, pharma-
