90% chance of rain, INDEED. It poured all day today. We were running around unloading pallets, setting up stations, and getting completely soaked in the process. With the wind we froze our little butts off! The camp was almost complete when we left, which is a complete success in my eyes. Considering the only thing erected when we got there were the tents. There are now about 15 dental stations, 10 vision stations, 15 medical exam rooms, 4 women's health exam rooms, 1 trauma exam room and two misc. exam rooms. I think everyone held up extremely well considering the conditions.
Everyone continues to be extremely grateful to have "the Mayo people" here, which is a good feeling. I hope that we can add the value that they are looking for.
A couple of statements stood out at our volunteer meeting this afternoon. The population in New Orleans proper was ~400,000 pre-Katrina and is now ~140,000. Even with less than half of the population returning, the death rate has doubled since Katrina. They say that "people are still dying from Katrina" because there are not enough medical professionals to manage patients. Even patients who can afford to pay for their prescriptions can't find a provider to accept them. Those people with unmanaged chronic illness contribute to that death rate as does prolonged stress and an increased suicide rate. It is such a complex problem to solve. As I work in through in my head, I realize that if it were up to me, I would have NO IDEA where to start. There is a whole lot of politics and litigation involved which I'm having a very hard time comprehending. Each person I ask has a different spin on it, which is very interest, but reiterates the issue's complexity.
Tomorrow all of the Mayo nurses are to begin the triage process for the first day of the Recovery Week. The bus departs at 0500 and our finishing time remains TBD. They really have no idea how many people will turn out. There continues to be a lot of press coverage down here, and it will probably be on the national news. The Jim Lehrer News Hour will be down here tomorrow and there will be a press conference from the site on Monday, so keep your eyes and ears open!
Tomorrow's weather partly sunny, windy with a high of 50.
Sends us all of your good vibes tomorrow!
Everyone continues to be extremely grateful to have "the Mayo people" here, which is a good feeling. I hope that we can add the value that they are looking for.
A couple of statements stood out at our volunteer meeting this afternoon. The population in New Orleans proper was ~400,000 pre-Katrina and is now ~140,000. Even with less than half of the population returning, the death rate has doubled since Katrina. They say that "people are still dying from Katrina" because there are not enough medical professionals to manage patients. Even patients who can afford to pay for their prescriptions can't find a provider to accept them. Those people with unmanaged chronic illness contribute to that death rate as does prolonged stress and an increased suicide rate. It is such a complex problem to solve. As I work in through in my head, I realize that if it were up to me, I would have NO IDEA where to start. There is a whole lot of politics and litigation involved which I'm having a very hard time comprehending. Each person I ask has a different spin on it, which is very interest, but reiterates the issue's complexity.
Tomorrow all of the Mayo nurses are to begin the triage process for the first day of the Recovery Week. The bus departs at 0500 and our finishing time remains TBD. They really have no idea how many people will turn out. There continues to be a lot of press coverage down here, and it will probably be on the national news. The Jim Lehrer News Hour will be down here tomorrow and there will be a press conference from the site on Monday, so keep your eyes and ears open!
Tomorrow's weather partly sunny, windy with a high of 50.
Sends us all of your good vibes tomorrow!
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