Hurricane Katrina Relief September – October 2005 Summary (see also: photos)
Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the effort and commitment of many able volunteers, the three phases of IMA's Hurricane Katrina Relief operation were a great success. The Katrina relief operation began as a grass roots effort in Knoxville, Tennessee undertaken jointly by IMA and the employees of University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMCK) and evolved into a complex relief operation.
Phase 1.Dog River community of Mobile, Alabama
Our initial relief effort was focused on this marginal Mobile community which was devastated by the tidal surge of Katrina. Donations of appliances, furniture, linens, clothing, cleaning supplies and food collected at UTMCK filled a 53 foot semi and a 26 foot truck. In addition a horse trailer filled with pet food was donated to the Humane Society of Fairhope, Alabama. Donated items were distributed in Dog River on September 9 th and 10 th. On the morning of September 11 th we addressed the congregation of the Knollwood Assembly of God in Mobile and told them of their neighbor’s plight. As a result this church and St Paul’s Episcopal have continued to assist the residents of Dog River with cleanup, repair, transportation and financial needs.
Phase 2.Mississippi Gulf Coast medical relief
On September 11 we arrived Gulf Coast Worship Center (GCWC) in Long Beach, Mississippi. GCWC was the only church still standing with minimal structural damage; Pastor Jay West opened the doors of his church to Harrison County. In cooperation with two churches from Mobile; Knollwood Assembly of God and St. Paul’s Episcopal, an ecumenical relief effort of unimaginable proportions was operated. Serving as a distribution center, more than 90,000 tons of food and clothing were distributed. IMA’s clinical base and pharmacy were based at GCWC and our volunteers were housed there. Over one thousand volunteers comprising chain saw and clean up crews, distribution volunteers and medical staff were housed and fed.
EADS Defense & Security of North America and the German Army flew in a German Military field hospital which provided a surgical suite and exam stations for IMA. 187 surgical procedures were done in the EADS facility. We were inspected and approved by the health regulating agencies of the State of Mississippi and commended for structure and organization amid chaos. We had indispensable assistance from UTMCK, Facilities Services Group, National Renal Alliance, Watkins Assoc. Industries, Land Span, Inc., Indiana Osteopathic Society, EADS North America, the Rotary Clubs of Fairhope and Mobile Alabama and Chicago, Illinois, the Medical Society of Mobile, Gulf Coast Worship Center, Knollwood Assembly of God Church, St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Pfizer Corporation, King Benevolent Fund, Direct Relief International, AmeriCares, and the Long Beach Fire Department.
The statistics for the seven week medical relief phase are impressive: ten clinic
locations in four different Mississippi counties, totaling 9328 patient encounters. All of the patient records are now being analyzed at UTMCK to look further at statistics as to wound infections, upper respiratory infections (“Katrina cough”), intestinal infections ("Biloxi bowel"), and other indicators relevant to hurricane and flood victims. After final analysis IMA will submit an after action report to the federal government and the state of Mississippi to guide preparation for the next disaster response.
Phase 3.Haitian container shipment
As operation of the distribution phase of Katrina relief ended at GCWC it was evident that there was a surplus of infant formula, food, diapers and clothing plus medical supplies on the Gulf Coast. This was due to two factors, the generosity of the American people and the disproportion of donated infant items to actual infant population. Aaron Früh pastor of Knollwood Assembly of God arranged with a member of his congregation through the John Brining Co. of Mobile to provide and ship a 40 foot container to Port au Prince in care of Marc Pinard, MD a Haitian surgeon with which IMA has worked for years.
On October 28 th, 13 pallets of infant food and formula were loaded with a forklift. We the weary volunteers eyed the task of loading the “loose” boxes with despair. However, God provides, 18 energetic young people arrived from Clanton, Alabama to help for the weekend. We stood by amazed as they loaded 530 boxes in 2 ½ hours, in a parking lot illuminated only with headlights. On Saturday October 29 th the customs seal was applied and the container began the journey to Haiti and is scheduled to arrive in Port au Prince on November 16 th.
In closing it has been one of the greatest privileges of our careers to participate in the Katrina relief effort. IMA had over 149 volunteers: 52 doctors, 43 RNs, 2 paramedics, 3 EMTs, 8 LPNs, 5 med students, 7 mental health professionals and 30 other non-medical support persons. Some 31 state and local governmental and health agencies, private organizations, churches, corporations and universities contributed personnel, supplies, medicines and equipment.
That is the big picture. The smaller picture we hold in our hearts as personal seimpressions and memories; the remarkable way all problems were solved and obstacles overcome, without ego or strife, with good care delivered by all as if by magic, serendipity, or miraculously by the hand of God. Everyone knew what had to be done and did it.
