Hurricane Katrina Information for Mississippi Hospitals

Administration targets changes to federal response system in wake of Katrina

In a report reviewing lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration on Feb. 23 recommended 125 actions to improve the federal response to future hurricanes and disasters. The report recommends establishing a national operations center to coordinate the federal, state and local response to major domestic incidents; an interagency team to recommend improvements to the national response plan; and a national emergency communications strategy to support interoperable communications. It also recommends transferring the National Disaster Medical System from the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of Health and Human Services, and that the Department of Transportation coordinate the timely evacuation of patients and transport of medical supplies and personnel when disasters overwhelm state and local governments.

[ via AHA News ]

Health Care in Mississippi After Hurricane Katrina

The Clarion-Ledger published an article by Lora Hines on Feb. 19 that had some interesting post-Katrina health care statistics...

• The Coast has lost 20 percent of its residents since Hurricane Katrina
• The unemployment rate is 21% for Hancock County, 22.1% in Harrison County and 15.2% in Jackson County
• Physicians affected by the hurricane are saying it will cost them approximately $100,000 to reopen their offices
• Less than three-quarters of Bay St. Louis' pre-Katrina population of 8,200 has returned.
• The only doctors in both D'Iberville and Pass Christian have left their cities.

• Emergency management officials estimate 64 percent of Hancock County's homes were damaged or destroyed in the storm. Forty percent of the tax base, including that generated by Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, is gone.

• Hancock Medical Center in Bay St. Louis is struggling to survive as it waits for $24 million in reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for equipment it bought to reopen. So far, it has gotten $1 million, administrator Hal Leftwich said. The hospital has about $3 million left, which Leftwich said will last about six weeks. The hospital earned as much as $12 million a month before the storm, Leftwich said. It lost about $7 million while it was closed Aug. 31 to Oct. 5. The hospital's 400 full-time positions have been reduced to 180.

Disaster system short-sighted on nursing homes: report

The National Disaster Medical System is not set up to help evacuate or care for residents of nursing homes during hurricanes, although it has agreements in place to help hospitals with their patients, according to a preliminary report by the Government Accountability Office. Both hospitals and nursing homes had trouble evacuating after Hurricane Katrina, but nursing home residents may have suffered particularly. "Federal officials told us that (the National Disaster Medical System) was not set up nor is it currently configured to provide assistance evacuating nursing homes," the GAO said in its report. The agency is expected to release a longer report this summer that will examine who decides to evacuate hospitals and nursing homes; which issues are considered in such decisions; and what federal support exists. Read the preliminary report.

[ via Modern Healthcare ]

Medical Textbooks Available

Below is a list of donated medical texts available for anyone who needs them in Katrina-affected areas. Health professionals interested in the textbooks should contact J. Michael Lindsay at (251) 460-6894 or jmlindsay@bbl.usouthal.edu to request to receive any of these donations or for more information.

Textbook List - Katrina

Textbook of Family Medicine, John W. Saultz, 2000

Textbook of Family Practice, Robert Rakel, 6th ed 2002

Blueprints in Medicine, USMLE steps 2 & 3, 2nd ed.Vincent Young et al, 2001.

The Human Brain: An Introduction to Its Functional Anatomy, John Nolte, 1999

Langman's Essential Medical Embryology, TW Sadler, 2005

Saunders Manual of Medical Practice, Robert Rakel, 2000.

Pharmacology, Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews, 2nd ed, Mary Mycek et al, 2000.

Mayo Clinic Cardiology Review, 2nd ed, Joseph Murphy, 2000.

Ambulatory Medicine Case Book, Joyce Doyle et al, 2002.

20 Common Problems in Women's Health Care, Mindy Smith et al, 2000.

Intensive Review of Internal Medicine, 3rd ed, James Stoller

Introductory Textbook of Psychiatry, 3rd ed, Nancy Andreason, 2000.

Essentials of Family Practice, 2nd ed, Robert Rakel, 1998.

Infectious Diseases Handbook, 3rd ed, Carlos Isada et al, 1999

Human Embryology, 2nd ed, William Larsen, 1997.

Differential Diagnosis of Common Complaints, 4th ed, Robert Seller, 2000.

Clinical Anatomy, 4th ed, Richard Snell, 2004.

Primary Care Medicine, 4th ed, Allan Goroll, 2000.

Cardiopulmonary Critical Care, 3rd ed, David Dantzker, 1998.

Medical Microbiology & Immunology: Examination & Board Review, 6th ed, Warren Levinson, 2000.

High Yield Neuroanatomy, 2nd ed, James Fix, 2000.

Appleton & Lange Review of Surgery, 4th ed, Simon Wapnick et al, 2003.

Blueprints in Obstetrics & Gynecology: USMLE Steps 2 & 3, 2nd ed, Tamara Callahan et al, 2001.

Blueprints in Psychiatry: USMLE Steps 2 & 3, 2nd ed, Michael Murphy et al, 2001.

Blueprints in Pediatrics: USMLE Steps 2 & 3, 2nd ed, Bradley Marino et al, 2001.

Shearer's Manual of Human Dissection, 7th ed, John J. Jacobs, 1989.

Kelley's Essentials of Internal Medicine, 2nd ed, H. David Humes, 2001.

Call for Papers on Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma and Their Public Health Implications

The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved is now accepting papers for their issue on the public health implications of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Papers are due on September 1, 2006 (one year after Katrina struck). They will undergo the regular process of double-blind peer review.

The issue will be published in May 2007. They are especially interested in how race and/or class relate to specific public health concerns emanating from the disaster and in ideas for solutions. Following is a list of other areas of interest for this special issue:

• Environmental justice, including work concerning levee construction policy
• Nursing homes’ and hospitals’ care for the elderly and severely disabled during and after the hurricanes
• Trauma and post-traumatic stress
• Effects of displacement on individuals and communities
• Care during crises for medically disabled people who (i) depend on electronic devices, (ii) are unable to move unassisted, (iii) may be isolated
• Medications: availability, refrigeration, and records
• Hospital and community health center preparedness, responses, and recovery time (until operational again)
• Infectious disease, mold, drinking water, increased risk of West Nile Virus, toxic contaminants
• Pre-existing environmental and health conditions
• The roles of media attention and lack of attention
• Hidden effects on hidden populations, such as undocumented immigrants

For more information, contact Virginia Brennan, Ph.D., at (615) 327-6819, (800) 669-1269 or vbrennan@mmc.edu.

New Orleans hospital reopens; trauma center to open in area next month

Tulane University Hospital & Clinic in downtown New Orleans reopened its emergency department on Feb. 14 and other inpatient and outpatient services as planned. The hospital, owned by HCA and Tulane University, had been closed since Hurricane Katrina. On Feb. 13, Ochsner Clinic Foundation and Louisiana State University Health Care Services Division announced plans to re-establish level-1 trauma care in the New Orleans area. Beginning next month through the end of this year, Ochsner's Elmwood Hospital in Jefferson, LA, will temporarily house the trauma center destroyed by Katrina at LSU's Charity Hospital. LSU currently operates the only other level-1 trauma center in Louisiana, in Shreveport.

[ via AHA News ]

DHS announces steps to strengthen disaster response in wake of Katrina

The Department of Homeland Security on Feb. 13 announced changes to strengthen the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s ability to respond to disasters, particularly catastrophic events like Hurricane Katrina. Among other actions, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said his department would establish a more sophisticated logistics management system to better track shipments of materials and equipment, manage inventories, and ensure effective distribution and delivery of needed supplies. In addition, he said FEMA would establish a highly trained unit of permanent employees able to take full advantage of DHS resources and capabilities to reach victims in a timelier manner; and enhanced communications capabilities to provide real-time information that can be used to inform decision-making and prioritize resource requirements.

[ via AHA News ]

Survey examines attitudes of New Orleans physicians after Katrina

Just over half of physicians polled in the New Orleans area believe it will take at least five years for the city’s health care system to return to its pre-Katrina state, according to a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for the Touro Infirmary Foundation and Louisiana Hospital Association. Many of the physicians view the lack of residents as a serious threat to the health care infrastructure, and cite locating qualified staff and caring for the uninsured as top concerns. Most respondents also were not confident the government will help with the rebuilding of health care institutions. However, the vast majority of respondents were optimistic the city’s health care system will eventually return to its pre-hurricane state, and three-quarters with private practices in New Orleans expect it to take less than three years for their practice to return to normal levels. The poll surveyed physician practices within a 75-mile radius of New Orleans.

[ via AHA News ]

CDC releases report on mold, effects of Katrina

The flooding in New Orleans that led to excessive mold growth in buildings has public health authorities on alert for resultant health effects, specifically upper respiratory problems. They are concerned how this may affect not only returning residents but aid workers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on January 20 revealing details of a CDC study conducted under the auspices of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

The report looked at housing assessment for mold and mold exposure and surveyed residents and workers regarding mold.

The study brings up some details about respirator use in remediation efforts. For example, when some workers were asked why they did not use respirators, 54.2 percent cited discomfort as the reason. Others did not always use appropriate respirators.

View the article here.

[ via Emergency Management Alert ]

Hurricane Katrina Uncompensated Care Fund

This is the latest information provided to us by the Division of Medicaid.

1. Providers will be required to supply a “printed/paper” UB92.
2. The UB92s will be submitted in a batch.
3. The state will provide you with a one page cover sheet to include with the batch. You may not use an Excel or other spreadsheet. (Sorry, we had hoped a spreadsheet would do)
4. The Division does not have final approval from CMS for their distribution plan, but you will be notified ASAP when they do.
5. The pool does not include any individual whose Medicaid benefits were exhausted at the time of treatment.

We will provide additional information as we receive it, but if you have questions, you may contact Mary Patterson, MHA vice president for policy, at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3204 or mpatterson@mhanet.org.