Technology is such a blessing, but when the electricity goes off, there’s only so much one can do.
The whole Katrina situation was such a fiasco. People were warned to leave and didn’t, patients weren’t transfered beforehand, when they knew it was coming.
It wasn’t just the hospitals, it was nursing homes as well. It would have been far easier to move patients ahead of time. There wasn’t much doubt about it hitting and the worst case scenario could have been expected. Even it they waited and started moving patients later than they would have liked, some would have been saved.
I find it so hard to believe that more rescue helicopters couldn’t have been found and used. We have a whole country of resources to draw on.
What was accomplished was a miracle! I suggest you read the full article. No one in the press has given enough credit to the heroic response that represented what really happened after Katrina. The true helicopter story is only one part! ,p> Read the entire story - below are just excerpts!
From: http://www.helis.com/featured/katrina.php
Of the 60,000 people stranded in New Orleans, the US Coast Guard rescued over 33,500. Congress recognized the Coast Guard's response with an official entry in the Congressional Record and the Armed Service was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
The demand for aircraft, particularly helicopters, led to the deployment of aircraft from across the services and the country. Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light (HSL) 43, HSL-47, and HSL-49, and HSC-21 arrived from NAS North Island, Calif., with their MH-60 Seahawks. Three Marine squadrons from MCAS New River, N.C., sent six CH-53E Super Stallions and two CH-46E Sea Knights, and Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 772, a reserve squadron from Willow Grove, Pa., sent four more Super Stallions. The Army's III Corps and two Air Force rescue wings contributed over 30 helos as well. Naval Aviation units also provided key logistical support; Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 57 and VR-58 moved in Seabees and HSL crewmen; evacuated hundreds of citizens; and transported tons of supplies. At the height of operations, the various elements of the Department of Defense had more than 350 helicopters and over 70 fixed wing aircraft involved in Katrina relief efforts.
It is too bad that the world does not know of the heroic work of the Coast Guard (and others) which made more than 33,000 rescues, most of them by helicopter. This is a resuce of Herculean proportions.
The outpouring of generosity by people all over this country who opened up their homes to displaced Katrina victims is also unprecedented.
Since the agenda-driven DBM wanted Bush to get a bad name from this more than they might like the world to know what a wonderful country we have, they never highlighted any of this,preferring to show Heraldo and Shep Smith frantic at the dome or Convention center, carefully not showing 360 degrees or TV audiences might have seen things like people moving out on buses and people eating....where did all that food trash come from???
Fox news ran nothing but N'leans stuff all day Sunday before the storm hit....
I remember people coming to the Superdome and were told repeatedly to have their own food, water, etc, for 3 ot 5 days I think.....
its not like people weren't warned....
we have to come to grips in this country about medical/health care....that is, there is NOT enough money or staff nor will there ever be to take care of our loved ones the way we want them to be taken care of....
if you have a loved one in the hosptial or nursing home or adult home, you have to take a very active role in their care....
no more blaming the health care system....
In the hosptial where I work, many if not most of the patients are HUGE people, and it takes more than one to move them, and if they are constantly incontinent, it takes all those people to clean them....we are talking basic care, not ever IV meds, or resp. treatments, or assessments, or charting, or calling the doc or dressing changes....
meanwhile, a little granny is down the hall being IGNORED because the staff is with another pt.....
there just is not enough staff....the health care bill would be triple if the staff to pt ratio was better....
honestly, until we can understand that the human life span does have limits, that we can't keep every diabetic pt with congestive heart failure and COPD alive indefinately, we will be chasing our own tails.....we'll never get there....