Citation

Berger E. Ann. Emerg. Med. 2006; 47(1): 53-56.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American College of Emergency Physicians, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16395776

Abstract

Charity Hospital's czar for disaster preparedness, Dr. Ed Halton, believed he had provisioned his facility for the worst as Hurricane Katrina roared toward the Gulf coast. This proved no small feat considering the storm ranked as the third most intense Atlantic hurricane on record. But never did Halton expect his patients would fall under sniper attack. A reported rogue gunman on a nearby roof, taking potshots at Charity's patients and their would-be Special Forces rescuers, simply didn't fall within his preparedness calculus. And yet it happened, delaying the evacuation of his steamy, desperate hospital. It took more than five days to evacuate Charity, the city's largest public hospital and a last refuge for the indigent.