More on the Hurricane Katrina response

Article Outline

• Copyright

Dear Editor:

I really enjoyed the article in the Journal on the Gulf response (December 2005). I can personally relate to the stories. Our DMAT (CO-2) responded to Katrina and was sent to Houston after arriving in New Orleans. We set up a 24/7 receiving center in Houston for all displaced Americans coming into Texas. This was my first true test of a real triage system. In our first 2 hours, we triaged 900 incoming victims who arrived by buses, cars, vans, and on foot. Our 3-person triage teams were made up of medics and nurses, with Army Reservists and Texas Rangers as backup. It was an awesome collaboration.

We returned to New Orleans for 2 weeks and worked with the Air Force to set up a tent hospital in the parking lot of University Hospital. Then we set up the first mobile emergency trailer the National Disaster System purchased; they modeled the next 3 trailers after our work.

It was very interesting being in the middle of nowhere, and within 24 hours having an emergency trailer up and running with ambulances responding to and from the parking lot of a middle school. From this point on is history. We referred/transferred critical patients from our location in Belle's Chasse (Louisiana) to West Jefferson Medical Center and other institutions when they reopened. Thank you for your work in helping the people who were there to share their experiences with us.