How awful is medical care in New Orleans?

[AR]

Hey, all you Louisiana people. . .

What is the deal with medical care down there? It's incredible that the health care infrastructure is still a shambles so long after the hurricane.

One of our best friends in the world practically commutes to New Orleans for business. He's been doing it for more than twenty years, sometimes three times a month. He knows every cab driver in town. A few weeks ago he was walking approximately one block from a bar to the Marriott Hotel when he was set upon by thugs, robbed, and beaten about the head with pipes. He staggered back to the hotel and decided not to seek medical attention in New Orleans. Unbelievably, he actually attended a business meeting the next morning (to the horror of his colleagues), then flew home and went straight to the hospital.

He was pretty badly concussed and cut up, but thankfully no lasting damage. Of course, our first impression was that this man who is not known for poor decisionmaking had been absolutely reckless in not seeking help at once. In checking with our own relatives down there, and with other friends and former colleagues who go there a lot on business, we are told that, in balance, he probably did the right thing. A New Orleans hospital, they all say, is the last place you want to be.

Chapter two: We just heard yesterday that a friend of a friend has just gone to New Orleans to pick up the body of their only child--a 26-year-old son--who died the other day in a hospital from a staph infection. Apparently it hadn't been diagnosed properly and had not been treated.

This is scandalous. I've never heard of a place in America where people are warned off seeking medical help. I mean, we all know that New Orleans has always been a place of rampant political and police corruption, but to not bring basic medical services back online surely can't be acceptable to those of you who live there--much less to the rest of us who might be inclined to go down there for one reason or another.

[microshell]

Originally Posted by AR

Hey, all you Louisiana people. . .

What is the deal with medical care down there? It's incredible that the health care infrastructure is still a shambles so long after the hurricane.

One of our best friends in the world practically commutes to New Orleans for business. He's been doing it for more than twenty years, sometimes three times a month. He knows every cab driver in town. A few weeks ago he was walking approximately one block from a bar to the Marriott Hotel when he was set upon by thugs, robbed, and beaten about the head with pipes. He staggered back to the hotel and decided not to seek medical attention in New Orleans. Unbelievably, he actually attended a business meeting the next morning (to the horror of his colleagues), then flew home and went straight to the hospital.

He was pretty badly concussed and cut up, but thankfully no lasting damage. Of course, our first impression was that this man who is not known for poor decisionmaking had been absolutely reckless in not seeking help at once. In checking with our own relatives down there, and with other friends and former colleagues who go there a lot on business, we are told that, in balance, he probably did the right thing. A New Orleans hospital, they all say, is the last place you want to be.

Chapter two: We just heard yesterday that a friend of a friend has just gone to New Orleans to pick up the body of their only child--a 26-year-old son--who died the other day in a hospital from a staph infection. Apparently it hadn't been diagnosed properly and had not been treated.

This is scandalous. I've never heard of a place in America where people are warned off seeking medical help. I mean, we all know that New Orleans has always been a place of rampant political and police corruption, but to not bring basic medical services back online surely can't be acceptable to those of you who live there--much less to the rest of us who might be inclined to go down there for one reason or another.

Nice info !

[mteague]

AR,

It doesn't have anything to do with political corruption....politicians and the people want to rebuild hospitals and improve the infrastructure. The problem is lack of................lack of money and lack of medical professionals. The State of Louisiana does not have the billions of dollars needed to rebuild hospitals. New Orleans needs MANY hospitals, clinics and surgery centers. Also, when Katrina struck and left the city devastated for months and months, doctors and other medical professionals relocated their practices, with many choosing to leave the state.

The stories you've told are horrendous, but it is reality. The US Government spends millions building hospitals and clinics overseas, but American citizens in New Orleans cannot receive basic health care. They live with this every day of their lives.

Your friend could have received care at East Jefferson Hospital in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. The wait may have been long, but the care there is decent.

The general public believes that New Orleans has recovered, and many areas have, but it will be MANY years, if ever, before New Orleans returns to it's original grandeur. It's still a city we love and one we should never forget. Two years later and the struggle continues......call your Congressman! It's going to take the vote of EVERYONE to get the help we need. You can be a part of the problem, or be a part of the solution!

Melody

PS I'm STILL fighting my insurance company over my roof!

[venice]

I concur 100% with Melody..it was by the grace of God that I had my medical situations before Katrina..I might not have survived if they were after Katrina

When I call my cardiologist these days if I have a problem the first thing they tell me is to go to the emergency room which is between a 6-9 hour wait and it takes up to 6 months to get an appointment

New Orleans lost 5 major hospitals including Charity where one goes when they have non insurance plus a major Veterans facility

Everyone is trying to work together to get the health systems back online

sorry about the experiences your friends received

FYI..East Jefferson is one of the best in the country and they saved my life so I second Melody's praise of them

[Delft]

I have a great deal of trouble understanding how one of the richest wealthiest countries in the world has issues like this. I hear of them on a regular basis, from family and friends in the states. One cousin has medical issues, and her kids had an inherited disorder that required surgery for all three, my aunt, waits endlessly while HMO's decide whether she will get a drug that she needs. I have medical issues, and if I lived in the states I would be ruined, plain and simple. I can honestly say that I personally have never had to wait for anything that was urgent. Right now I am waiting for a drug to be approved, but in the mean time the hospital supplied me with the drug.........When I am really sick, it is a matter of getting to the ER and I am in an ICU bed within an hours time- Is our system perfect, Nope, because it is no different than life, it is never perfect, but I know when I need help, I have help, and when my kid was hit by a car, medical bills or availability never even entered my mind.

[mteague]

FYI

I had a very close friend who was on a ventilator prior to Katrina. She was in a New Orleans hospital after a horrific accident. An 18-wheeler ran over her car and she was totally paralyzed. She had 4 children. She was coherent and alert. When the storm hit, hospitals lost power and switched to emergency generators. When the generators failed, the nurses had to manually "bag" the patients. My friend did not survive the evacuation......and it took us three months to get her body. Can you imagine being alert enough to know you were smothering to death? Now that is a medical horror.

It's not as easy as mopping up a little water and opening the doors. Entire massive hospitals structures are condemned......unusable......unsafe. All of the expensive medical equipment was destroyed. Just imagine the enormous expense of replacing something as simple as microscopes, surgical tools, hospital gowns, clipboards, ink pens, computers, etc. Then consider the cost of MRI machines, PET Scans, Xray machines, and the REALLY BIG STUFF, Not just for one facility, but for 5 major hospitals and untold numbers of surgical centers and doctors offices. They tell me FEMA and Red Cross were here.....I'm sure they were, but I never saw them. The city was drained and partial law and order obtained, then everybody left. It has been through the grit and determination of the citizens of New Orleans and organizations like Habitat For Humanity and other charitable/religious organizations that any progress has been made.

Then we get to hear about the aid offered to New Orleans from other countries that OUR OWN GOVERNMENT turned down! OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, not Louisiana officials, the people that the US citizens elected to office turned down aid to New Orleans. I guess it must feel nice to sit in your nicely furnished mansion and muse over the difficulties in New Orleans. Try living with it every day.....and I'm not talking about me or Venice.....we are some of the lucky ones. We have a home, a car and a job. A lot of people don't.

So yes, it's bad. We live with it 24/7. Isn't that a D@mn shame! We are doing the best we can with what we've got. The tourist areas are up and running and we are trying...........REALLY TRYING. Some days it feels like we are baling out a submerged yacht with a teaspoon!

Some people live here



Or here



Or here



And these are pictures I took in April 2007. Go to the personal gallery and check out my Katrina pictures.

Melody

[Mike M]

I won't go too far off topic and I know that different states and areas have different levels of health care but I have family and friends in Canada and England and I WILL FIGHT TO MY DEATH to never have that medical system implemented in the U.S.

Treatments, tests and medications that are withheld in a triage based on a first come first served philosophy and those who are the youngest win out.

Waiting for months for a simple MRI, CT or Echo Cardiogram only to find out that by the time the problem or tumor was found it had advanced to far to do anything about.

Doctors who can't figure out that swelling in the legs and arms two weeks after a heart attack that it couldn't have anything to do with a valve problem in the heart. Finally after a month an echo cardiogram was done and sure enough a mitro valve was prolapsed but two days later my aunt was dead.

Sorry but I've lost two aunts a cousin and two friends to nothing more than incompetency, lack of facilities, equipment and an attitude of "We just wait our turn and like it." Welfare patients here have far better care.

Sorry that mentality doesn't work with me.

Just because it's free doesn't mean it's any good. If it was they wouldn't be coming to the Mayo Clinic, John's Hopkins, UCLA Medical Center and Northwestern to be treated.

Take care,
Mike

[Delft]

I guess I and my loved ones have been very lucky as we have never had this happen to us. I have horror stories from family and friends in the states that make me also say never will I live in that system. I guess you must really have to live it to know it, but I will stick north of the boarder, especially given my medical issues, as I would have been financially ruined if I lived in the states, not to mention the care I have received has been excellent, as was the care my brother got with his lung cancer. Our care is not free, our taxes reflect this, it is also not perfect, but is preferable to me. The care I personally have gotten, and my son, has been nothing less than excellent, some bad things, yes for sure, as I always say, nothing is perfect, but over all, I owe the people who care for me a great deal and I am for ever grateful for all I have been given in terms of help and care when I need it, and even when I do not.

But getting back to NO, it is still a disgrace all this time later not to be up and running, and the main fault I find about the US system of health care is the range of health care offered from down right terrible to one of the best in the world.

[Kuki]

"Critical Care" (if you show up at the hospital and are considered critical) in Canada is excellent.

Presenting in anything less than critical condition can be an adventure!

Had AR's friend been attacked in Toronto, Montreal or any major Canadian city it well could have taken 6-12 hrs of waiting to see a Dr.

If a Dr. thought it would be wise, but not critical, to have an MRI he could have waited 6 months or more. If there was cause to see a specialist for a follow up, say a neurologist, he MIGHT get an appointment within 6 mnths.

Several months back Kuki Jr went to the emergency room in Critical condtion. His care was very quick and good.... but he laid in a hall outside of the emergency room for 15 hrs waiting for a room to become available.

When released, a follow up appointment with a specialist was recommended. Earliest available date for an office visit.....Dec.

There are no perfect health care systems. But my heart does go out to the people of NO. After what the city went through, you'd think they should be given some priority on the lists of all areas with needs, just because of what they've already survived and continue to struggle with.

[BW]

xxx

[mteague]

The people in New Orleans are struggling to survive....and by survive, I mean finding a ride to work, getting to the grocery, finding a school for their children, scraping money for rent (which is exhorbitant), gas, groceries, school uniforms, supplies, etc. and the list goes on and on. I'm not talking about the residents who have returned, made a killing on insurance settlements, flipped a few properties and are doing quite well. I'm talking about the people who were lower middle class. Everyday is a struggle. They don't have time to dream of cruises and vacations. They are grateful that the sun rises each day.

So rather than bust New Orleans in the chops with comments about the poor health system........put your money where your mouth is and help your fellow man!

Somebody should lock this thread............soon!

Melody

[mehawk]

Originally Posted by Delfthuis

I have a great deal of trouble understanding how one of the richest wealthiest countries in the world has issues like this. I hear of them on a regular basis, from family and friends in the states. One cousin has medical issues, and her kids had an inherited disorder that required surgery for all three, my aunt, waits endlessly while HMO's decide whether she will get a drug that she needs. I have medical issues, and if I lived in the states I would be ruined, plain and simple. I can honestly say that I personally have never had to wait for anything that was urgent. Right now I am waiting for a drug to be approved, but in the mean time the hospital supplied me with the drug.........When I am really sick, it is a matter of getting to the ER and I am in an ICU bed within an hours time- Is our system perfect, Nope, because it is no different than life, it is never perfect, but I know when I need help, I have help, and when my kid was hit by a car, medical bills or availability never even entered my mind.

The news media runs rampant on stories of sensationalism, anything that is wrong or bad is covered extensively in this country. That is why you hear of this issues all the time. Nobody has the decency to report the good news that happens all the time and more often than the bads news.

Two cases in point...

My second wife was diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer and told to get her affairs in order. However, with prayer and the experimental medicines that the doctor used, I am proud to say that she is now 4 years into remission. She had only 8 months to live at the time.

Regarding myself... I was involved in a horrific traffic accident last year. I received injuries that included my neck broken in two places, my back broken in three places, my rigght shoulder broken in three places, my left collar bone broken, my sternum broken in half, my right ribs broken, my right lung punctured and deflated, my diaphram punctured, my liver torn in half, my skin pulled from my left cheek, my left temple deeply lacerated, my brain injured and swelling, and blood had gathered on my brain. During the flight on the helicopter, from the scene to the hospital, I suffered cardiac arrest 4 times. The hospital staff told my family that I was not going to survive that first day. But I did and here I am.

Where are the good stories? They are here but the media is not in the business of good guy reporting.

[AR]

Whoa there, Melody.

Nobody is busting New Orleans in the chops. The question simply was why the problem has been allowed to fester this long.

The question is where can money be effectively put, and by whom.

And I fear that getting deeply into that question would almost instantly be too political for these sensitive precincts.

Apparently there is an entire economy down there that is in danger of not being viable.

[Delft]

In no way did I bust the chops of NO, I do feel that it is a federal issue and clearly in my view aid has not come and that to me is a shame. As for helping my fellow man, I can assure you that I do more than the average person, for both fellow man ( or woman) and four legged babies as well.

Mehawk, I agree that the media concentrates to much on failures and not enough on successes and I am more than grateful for the care I have and the life I have as well as the care my son got and even my brother. Some say,. well he died, yes he did, but he was given amazing and caring care and some times you cannot save every one but you can treat them with dignity and care.

[mteague]

AR,

Since when has Human Life not been viable? ***edited by moderator***



All of you are preaching to the choir here!

I've taken leave from my regular job and provided end-of-life care for two family members so they could die with dignity. Hard but rewarding.

I work 4 ten hour days for the Department of Social Services (ensuring that services are provided to Louisiana citizens and that contractors are being good stewards of the money awarded them by contract), Monday-Thursday.......then I get Friday during the day off. Friday evening I report to job #2. This job is for my spiritual well-being, the fact that it helps others is secondary, but equally important, as I feel I was placed on this earth to serve mankind. I work from 7 PM on Friday to 7 PM on Sunday caring for the elderly so they do not have to go to nursing homes. If the job paid better and had benefits, I would consider doing it full-time, but it doesn't. So, that is a 48 hour shift on the weekend. I do manage about 5-6 hours sleep a night at their home. We shop, talk, do laundry, go to church and whatever else they want to do. It is a very uplifting experience for me.


If I can do this, what are YOU doing?

Melody

[beenie weenie]

Melody, I love your passion, your compassion and the fire in your belly. The fact you know that one person can make a difference and it will be you. I love NOLA. I have friends who have lost loved ones to the crime, and people who have lost so much due to Katrina, but you're right, it cannot simply be written off and left to rot. It takes someone who is intimately aware of the issues and has real ideas to stop the bleeding and breath life into the city again. You've got my vote! You know we have an elction year coming up... I'm nominating you!
This is not a job for an armchair quarterback!

[mteague]

Thanks Beenie.........I've never been accused of not speaking my mind. I see I've been edited 3 times so far (and now warned of being banned). You know, I was just searching for one of your comments.....you know the one....

I would put on my go to hell hat and and go to hell shoes......that's about how I feel right now.

All of the people who sit back with smug looks on their faces feeling so certain they know all there is to know and exactly how to fix things ought to be forced to live in the middle of the 9th Ward for the entire month of August....without a car, house or a job.....oh, and no air conditioning! After August, I might be willing to listen to half of the bull$hit they say!

Louisiana has struggled for two years (August 29th is the 2nd anniversary of Katrina) to repair homes, businesses and hearts. I just audited a residential home for women with substance abuse problems in New Orleans. It's called Grace House. The demand for services are great. The women there could be you or me. Women are the backbone of our society and now even they are feeling hopeless and forgotten. So if anyone asks.....it's slowly coming back and we need all the help we can get. It will take an act of Congress to bring New Orleans back. That is why I urge all of you to contact your congressmen. Each person could do at least this. We love our hometown just like you love yours.

Our wetlands are gone, our levees are shot, our hearts are broken and we feel forgotten.

[venice]

Katrina has put a stress on anyone that was directly, or indirectly impacted by it's long range effect..and sometimes we who have had our lives disrupted forever will respond in a very passionate discord that is a reflection of the truly lack of understanding by the rest of the country of exactly the turmoil we are still in and the misrepresentation by the media to the rest of the country, of the recovery

therefore, I'm sure my neighbor to the west of me on I-10, will have time to reflect and respond and realize that our many friends on this board have consistently allow us the safety and extended to us the forgiveness, to express our passions about the situation..remember, I will always stand up for the honor of a Southern Woman

As does Melody, I work directly everyday in the recovery effort and every day I listen to citizens that lost everything and still have not come to grips with the residuals of Katrina..I often have to ease them into the "acceptance" mode and tell them in order to heal they must move on and rebuild for their children

Let's give Melody a pass and move on


Now back to AR's original post...yes the health system in Louisiana, and especially in New Orleans is in bad shape..If you know of any medical personel I would encourage you to encourage them to come and volunteer for a weekend, a week, a month, a year..remember 5 major hospitals in New Orleans are gone and nothing is there to fill the gap..I would also encourage anyone who reads these boards to come volunteer and see for yourself and I gurantee when you return to your communites you will have a different perspective or work thru your local churches to work with our local churches

these boards provide a welcome relief to those of us in Louisiana..it's a nice stress relaxer to talk about such "hot" topics as dress attire for dinner, where are we cruising to next etc., to give us an escape that there are still 1,000's of displace residence that can't come home or thinking about a cruise is the last thing on their minds (but always a top priority on ours

Now Melody..I'm offended because you have invited all of the males on this board to your "girls getaway weekend" but you did not invite me and I live close by Are you trying to tell me something?

[mteague]

Of course you can come Venice!!! Only now it doesn't seem like a Girls Weekend anymore!

Melody

[katlady]

I thought this thread needed some stats as here it is

State Rankings and Differences


-- Wide and highly significant gaps in patient-safety incidence

levels were discovered between the top-performing states and

those at the bottom over the years 2002, 2003 and 2004


-- Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Kansas ranked as the

top states for hospital patient safety


-- New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Tennessee and the District of

Columbia ranked last


-- Medicare patients in the best state, Minnesota, had an almost

30 percent overall lower relative risk of developing one or

more of the patient-safety incidents, compared with the worst

state, New Jersey

Here is a link to the full article. Interesting to note Louisiana not on the list. Sacramento sits on many levees I fear what would happen if they broke.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/...ide/index.html

[mteague]

While the state of Louisiana would like to put a 484-bed teaching and research hospital in downtown New Orleans, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development isn't sure it's a good idea. HUD has agreed to release $74 million to buy land and prepare a design for the next Charity Hospital, which sat in downtown New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. But HUD isn't thrilled about the idea of giving the state an additional $150 million or so to build the hospital. In a letter to Governor Kathleen Blanco (D), HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson ripped apart the state's plans for the hospital, suggesting that the proposed hospital was bigger than needed to meet local demand, making it unlikely that the facility would be solvent over the long term.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/stor...ans/2007-06-22

[mteague]

Feds fault hospital proposal for N.O.
Costs high, demand uncertain, HUD says
Friday, June 22, 2007
By Bill Walsh
and Jan Moller%%par%%Staff writers
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration made it clear Thursday that it has serious problems with Louisiana's plan for a 484-bed teaching and research hospital in downtown New Orleans, sending Gov. Kathleen Blanco and state lawmakers scrambling to defend the project they hope will help revitalize the hurricane-worn city.

The long-awaited evaluation by Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson could force the state to dramatically overhaul its hospital plan or look elsewhere for the $226 million in federal grant money it had hoped the Bush administration would deliver.

In a letter to Blanco, Jackson first offered some good news: His agency is releasing $74 million to buy land and design a new health-care facility to replace the public Charity Hospital that has been closed since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

At the same time, Jackson took aim at virtually every aspect of the proposed teaching and research facility, including its size, cost, scope and long-term viability. He called state estimates of local demand for hospital beds "inflated" and raised concerns about an "escalating price tag" that rose from a ballpark estimate of $630 million in October to $1.2 billion in a consultant's business plan presented to state officials in April.

In an attached list of 24 questions, Jackson even wondered about the "implications" of the recent departure of CEO Donald Smithburg from the Louisiana State University Health Science Center. The hospital, like others in the charity system, would be run by LSU.


'Aura of uncertainty'

The list apparently is only a start. Jackson noted that the exhaustive list of queries were his "initial questions."

"These factors -- financial assumptions made about the size and scope of the facility and about the overall market needs, a continued reliance on state and federal funding, and vast increases in the cost estimates -- create an aura of uncertainty surrounding the project's ultimate viability," Jackson wrote.

Jackson said the agency usually reserves such a level of scrutiny for hospitals seeking mortgage insurance through HUD's Federal Housing Administration, but that this project deserved special attention. He didn't explain why.

"While the Medical Center of Louisiana -- New Orleans -- is not applying for federally backed mortgage insurance, we believe it is in the best interest of the United States taxpayers to use the same test as we would for an FHA-insured facility," Jackson wrote.

The letter sparked anger and consternation at the Capitol in Baton Rouge, where just over a week ago lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the hospital business plan and seemed to provide momentum for a project that had been mired for months in debate about what the public health landscape in post-Katrina Louisiana should look like.

A statement issued by Blanco said the Legislature "has approved the business plan for this LSU teaching and research hospital and has answered these same questions to satisfaction. We will continue to work with all concerned parties to design and build a hospital that adequately meets our needs."

Other officials predicted that HUD's resistance would delay a project they hoped to have finished by 2012 to anchor the state's post-Katrina public health-care system, serve as a hub for a regional medical research economy and provide the training ground for the LSU and Tulane medical schools. Some suggested that Jackson's concerns are more political than substantive.

"It is obvious that Secretary Jackson and his staff are looking for any small reason, any large reason, any in-between reason to deny or delay the rest of the action plan that was overwhelmingly approved by both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature," said Charles Zewe, spokesman for the LSU System. "This can only result in a further, lengthy delay, and one has to wonder whether there is a partisan political agenda at work here to victimize people who cannot speak for themselves and who are suffering because of a lack of services."


Effect on VA

A delay also could endanger the partnership formed between LSU and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which signed an agreement last year to build its new hospital on the same campus in downtown New Orleans. In the face of financing delays and questions about the size of the available property, the VA announced this year that it was still interested in the partnership but would begin looking at other locations.

That possibility was evidently on the mind of Norman Francis, chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

"We request that (VA) Secretary James Nicholson announce the Veteran Administration's recommitment to building its new medical center in its partnership with LSU," Francis said in a statement. "The state of Louisiana has been unwavering in its commitment to rebuild its teaching hospital in downtown New Orleans. Now it's time for the VA to make good on its word."

The Bush administration's reservations have been known for a long time. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has called for the state to move away from a Charity Hospital System model for treating the uninsured in favor of government-subsidized health insurance for some low-income people.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., voiced those same concerns and has actively lobbied against the hospital in its proposed configuration. He declined to comment Thursday, but Jackson reiterated the point in his letter saying, "The plan appears to follow an inpatient-intensive model, contrary to state and national trends toward more primary and outpatient care."

State Sen. Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, a key backer of the project and chairman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, said the state would move forward regardless of how much money is made available from Washington.

"We're still hoping that the feds will come through with the money," McPherson said. "If that's not the case, the state will continue with this capital outlay process without federal funds. It simply means the Louisiana taxpayers will pick up" more of the cost.

. . . . . . .

Bill Walsh can be reached at bill.walsh@newhouse.com or (202) 383-7817.

Jan Moller can be reached at jmoller@timespicayune.com or (225) 342-5207.





http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpa...l=1&thispage=2

[mteague]

New Orleans hospitals make tougher storm plans
By admin
Created May 29 2007 - 8:01pm
Few hospitals have been through the kind of trauma faced by New Orleans facilities during Hurricane Katrina. No one at the city's Charity Hospital, in particular, can forget being trapped there with sick and dying patients as the city struggled to recover from flooding. But as hospitals must, given their 24-hour-a-day mission, the city's facilities are preparing to try again if faced with another emergency. Among other steps, they're digging wells, stockpiling supplies and buying satellite phones and sturdy radios to make sure that this time, they're prepared for a week or more of chaos. Hospitals are also transforming their infrastructure to prepare for high water and wind, in part by boosting generators above potential flood levels and upgrading air conditioners to prevent stifling indoor heat after a storm. Hospitals have also beefed up their evacuation plans, for use if all of their other preparations fail.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/stor...ans/2007-05-30

[mteague]

New Orleans health system still on life support
By admin
Created Mar 14 2007 - 8:01pm
Still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Katrina [1], the New Orleans health system still has such bad gaps in it that patients are dying needlessly, New Orleans medical executives told Congress this week. Among other problems, heart disease and cancer patients are getting inadequate care, psych patients aren't getting their meds, and deaths have increased by as much as 40 percent over pre-Katrina levels, executives and city officials said. To date, the city's primary hospital--a 700 bed facility which served as the area's leading trauma center--still hasn't reopened, and overall, the region only has half the beds it did before the hurricane. The region also faces a serious shortage of doctors and nurses. Meanwhile, people with everyday illnesses must endure many hours of waiting to get treated at volunteer-staffed clinics [2]. The New Orleans medical leaders would like to see more help from the federal government, but face pressure to buy into a new system under which funds would insure the medically indigent rather than paying for care at designated charity hospitals.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/node/5075/print

[mteague]

Forum Nearly One Year After Hurricane Katrina Discusses Health Issues, Access to Care
A report released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation examines health and access to care challenges after Hurricane Katrina, ABC News reports (Schaffhausen, ABC News, 8/8). The new report, based on responses of more than 40 low-income Katrina survivors, includes information on survivors' experiences in accessing health care and living and financial situations after the hurricane (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 8/8). Almost all survivors had emotional or mental trauma, and few reported receiving formal counseling. The destruction of area health facilities and a lack of transportation and information made it difficult for survivors to access health care. Some survivors went without medical care or medicine for weeks and, in some cases, months, according to the report. The report adds, "Those who were uninsured continued to describe major problems connecting with care due to long waits, limited health care resources and unaffordable costs" nearly one year after the storm (Abruzzese, CQ HealthBeat, 8/8). The foundation also produced a short film, based on interviews with survivors and providers, that follows individuals whose lives have been affected by the hurricane and that follows their experiences coping with health needs (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 8/8). In addition, a foundation survey of 1,217 adults across the country finds that 52% believe there is "major work" yet to be done to help New Orleans and 30% said the city is still "in crisis" when asked what best describes the situation in New Orleans today. Further, 70% believe most people affected by the hurricane have not received the help they need (Walsh, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 8/9). In addition, 60% say they think about Katrina and its aftermath at least somewhat often, and 53% say that the government's handling of Katrina has had a negative impact on their confidence in government overall (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 8/8).

Forum Discussion
At a forum held by the foundation, a panel discussed the outstanding obstacles to the New Orleans-area health system. Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman said Americans "have a pretty realistic view" of the situation in the Gulf Coast region. Panelist David Dosa, an assistant professor of medicine at Brown Medical School, said the New Orleans area has a continued shortage of mental health providers, nursing staff and facilities. According to CQ HealthBeat, many nursing homes are struggling because they have not received payments for care since last year. Irwin Redlener, president of the Children's Health Fund and director of the National Center for Preparedness at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, said that health issues have gone from "mildly out of control" a few months ago to "wildly out of control" today. Fred Cerise, secretary for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, said the hurricane offered the area an opportunity to reinvent and rebuild a system, but high costs have affected that opportunity. Karen DeSalvo, chief of general internal medicine at the Tulane University Health Sciences Center said that the goal for rebuilding a system should be to start with linking decentralized care facilities to a central organization where patients could be referred for testing or serious medical issues. She added, however, that such a move could take as long as eight years (CQ HealthBeat, 8/8). A webcast of the panel discussion and access to the reports and film are available online.


http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_r...39031&dr_cat=3

[mteague]

New Orleans health plan costs mount
By admin
Created Nov 6 2006 - 8:01pm
State health planners must be exasperated. With plans for the redesign [1] of the New Orleans health system still on the drawing board, projected costs have already hit $500 million, a whopping 43 percent higher than they'd projected only one month ago. The new estimates take healthcare inflation into account, and also include $125 million to raise reimbursements for physicians who'd otherwise turn new patients away. The state would like to cover 80 percent or more of the roughly 127,000 uninsured consumers in the New Orleans area, but planners aren't sure that's going to happen. State officials are expecting the federal government to bear the majority of the costs, but even if the feds do their part, planners are facing a projected a $67 million shortfall.

What's worse, even with that investment, some low-income uninsureds will stay uninsured, planners say. Meanwhile, officials are concerned that the program will drain money away from the state's existing public health programs. This situation is a reminder that the U.S. health system is unworkable, even if you're building a health plan more or less from scratch.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/stor...unt/2006-11-07

[mteague]

Gulf coast healthcare still in bad shape
By admin
Created Aug 21 2006 - 8:01pm
A report in Modern Healthcare paints a grim picture of the healthcare system in the Gulf region, post Hurricane Katrina. Since being devastated by the storm last year, $100 billion in government aid has been sent to the affected areas. But little of that money has found its way into the area's ruined health system. "Seven of the 15 hospitals that shut down in the flooding remain closed, and the feds won't pay to rebuild them. Overcrowded clinics in trailers and a converted department store have replaced fully functioning hospitals. Even the facilities that survived the worst of the flooding are stressed from taking care of the uninsured, now 40 percent of the region's population," the magazine reports. Many doctors, whose businesses were destroyed by the hurricane, have moved out of the area entirely. Mental health workers and nursing staff are in short supply and nursing homes are struggling [1]. Due to the overwhelming lack of healthcare providers, another important aspect of health has been overlooked--the mental health of hurricane victims and first responders alike.

It's difficult to imagine that such a serious situation exists anywhere in the United States and that the federal government hasn't done more to alleviate the problem. But there is a glimmer of hope. Louisiana governor Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco wants to take this opportunity to start from scratch to redesign and modernize the state's healthcare system. She may even follow in Gov. Mitt Romney's footsteps [2] and propose a universal coverage plan. Let's hope that the upcoming one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina brings more attention to the problem.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/stor...ape/2006-08-22

[mteague]

New Orleans goes on international nurse hunt
By admin
Created Apr 25 2007 - 8:01pm
Hospitals in New Orleans are searching far and wide to fill major gaps [1] in their nursing lineups, still struggling with shortages arising from mass departures after Hurricane Katrina. For example, Ochsner Medical Center-West Bank and West Jefferson Medical Center have been forced to fill the 100 vacancies at each hospital with contract workers from out of state. The two also share nurses to address labor shortages. The contract nurses, who work 12 to 13 week contracts, are an expensive but necessary part of doing business in the still-recovering city. To address this problem over the longer term, Ochsner hopes to bring 40 Filipino nurses on board; the Filipino nurses must agree to a three-year commitment if the system hires them. Also, both hospitals are working with nursing schools to bring in new recruits.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/stor...unt/2007-04-26

[mteague]

350 of over 1,300 medical positions advertised in the New Orleans area in the past WEEK!
RN-Operating Room Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-Two East Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-Operating Room Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-MICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-Rehab Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-SICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-Emergency Room Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-Two East Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-Emergency Room Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-MICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-MICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-MICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-MICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-MICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-SICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-SICU Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-Operating Room Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN-Labor & Delivery Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Nurse Practitioner - Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse - Outpatient Oncology Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
LPN Med Surg One East Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
LPN Med Surg One West Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse Metairie, LA American Nursing Services, Inc 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse Mandeville, LA American Nursing Services, Inc 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist East Ryegate, VT 70123 Apria Healthcare 08-05-2007
RESPIRATORY THPST RRT, RESPIRATORY THERAPY-WBM New Orleans, LA Ochsner Clinic Foundation 08-07-2007
Transcriptionist I Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Transcriptionist I Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Transcriptionist II Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Transcriptionist II Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist Elmwood, LA 70123 Apria Healthcare 08-05-2007
Registered Respiratory Therapist - FT New Orleans, LA Tulane Hospital and Clinic 08-07-2007
Ultrasound Tech Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapists CRT/RRT SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
RN Horsham, PA 70002 Temps INC 08-05-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse (Outpatient) New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Clinical Manager - Rehab Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Chief Medical Officer Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Clinical Manager-Acute Adult Health Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Senior Nurse Tech Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN SURGERY Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Oncology Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Dietitian Luling, LA St Charles Parish Hospital 08-06-2007
RN's New Orleans, LA Gifted Nurses 08-05-2007
RN Slidell, LA 70458 Greenbriar 08-05-2007
RN Metairie, LA 70002 Temps INC 08-05-2007
RN PACU Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Respiratory Therapist RRT/CRT New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Respiratory Therapist RRT/CRT New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse - Inpatient Oncology Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist RRT/CRT New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Respiratory Therapist RRT/CRT New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Respiratory Therapist RRT/CRT New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Respiratory Therapist RRT/CRT New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN 3 East Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Clinic Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Medical Transcriptionist Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN - Med/Surg Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Med/Surg Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Med/Surg Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Clinic Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Float Pool Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Nursery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Rehab Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Post Partum Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Nursery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Nursery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Geriatric Behavorial Health Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Nursery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Clinic Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Rehab Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - GI/Endoscopy Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Respiratory Therapist RRT/CRT New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Rehab Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Med/Surg Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Rehab Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Post Partum Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Nurse Extender-One East Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Nurse Tech-Rehab Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Nurse Extender-One East Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN - Observation Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Observation Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Observation Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN CCU Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Med/Surg Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN CCU Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Nursery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN CCU Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Geriatric Behavorial Health Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN CCU Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Nursery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Clinical Manager-3West Telemetry Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN - GI/Endoscopy Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Nurse Extender-One East Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Clinical Manager-3West Telemetry Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Medical Assistant Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN 3 East Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Nurse Extender Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Nurse Extender Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Nurse Extender Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Travel position To Be Determined Tulane Hospital and Clinic 08-07-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Nursery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Skilled Nursing Facility Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Labor/Delivery Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN 3 East Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Clinical Manager-Acute Adult Health Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN - Travel position To Be Determined Tulane Hospital and Clinic 08-07-2007
Respiratory Therapist Mandeville, LA American Nursing Services, Inc 08-07-2007
RN III Coordinator SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
Phlebotomist SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
Radiology Tech SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
Pharmacy Tech SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
RN Field Staff Covington, LA 70433 Synergy 08-05-2007
ICU RN New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
RN - Ortho/ Neuro Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RESPIRATORY THPST RRT - PRN, RESPIRATORY THERAPY-WBM New Orleans, LA Ochsner Clinic Foundation 08-07-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Phlebotomist Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Respiratory Therapist New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
RN/Radiology New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
Registered Respiratory Therapist New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Pool Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
LPN - Rehab Center - PRN Metairie, LA Tulane Hospital and Clinic 08-07-2007
Pharmacy Tech Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -Telemetry Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Pharmacist New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -ICU Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
DRG Coding Specialist New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Telemetry Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Respiratory Therapist-PRN Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse - Inpatient Oncology Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
CLINICAL DIETITIAN SSP, DIETARY NOM New Orleans, LA Ochsner Clinic Foundation 08-07-2007
RN - Same day Stay Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Pharmacy Tech Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse SICU Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Clinical Manager-OR Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Clinical Manager - Hospice Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -Skilled Nursingy Facility Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Supervisor Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Pharmacy Tech Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Same day Stay Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
LPN Occupational Medicine Clinic Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -Pediatrics Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -Pediatrics Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -Rehab Care Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse-SCU Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN - Same day Stay Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Pharmacy Tech Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Women and Child Clinic Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -Telemetry Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN - Same day Stay Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
CLINICAL DIETITIAN, DIETARY NOM New Orleans, LA Ochsner Clinic Foundation 08-07-2007
RN - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -Nursery Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Women and Child Clinic Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
LPN Occupational Medicine Clinic Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -Skilled Nursingy Facility Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -Nursery Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -Nursery Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Physical Therapist Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -NICU Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -NICU Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Emergency Department Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Clinical Pharmacist - Medicine New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -Stroke Unit Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse SICU Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -PACUI Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Recreational Therapist Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Contract RRT / CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Educational Coordinator New Orleans, LA Delgado Community College 08-06-2007
Clerk (Reanalysis) Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Clerk (Reanalysis) Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN - Hospitalist - SICU New Orleans, LA Tulane Hospital and Clinic 08-07-2007
RN - Surgery Unit - LS Metairie, LA Tulane Hospital and Clinic 08-07-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN - Surgery Unit New Orleans, LA Tulane Hospital and Clinic 08-07-2007
Phlebotomist Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Certified Surgical Tech II Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Certified Surgical Tech II Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Phlebotomist-Laboratory Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Phlebotomist-Laboratory Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Nurse New Orleans, LA 70128 Ferncrest Manor 08-05-2007
RN Gulfport, MS 39501 The Boyington Nursing & Rehab Center 08-08-2007
RN Field Staff Covington, LA 70433 Synergy 08-02-2007
LPN Instructors Covington, LA 70433 Delta College 08-05-2007
Nurse Belle Isle, FL 70125 Woodland Village Nursing & Rehabilitation Center 08-02-2007
Registered Nurses SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
Physical Therapists SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
Physical Therapy Assistants SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
Speech Therapist SLIDELL, LA North Shore Regional 08-05-2007
Respiratory Therapist New Orleans, LA Gulf States 08-05-2007
Respiratory Therapist New Orleans, LA Gulf States 08-05-2007
Respiratory Therapist New Orleans, LA Gulf States 08-05-2007
RESPIRATORY THERAPIST Covington, LA Lakeview Regional Medical Center 08-05-2007
Physician Liaison Lacombe, LA 70445 Louisiana Heart Hospital 08-05-2007
Clinical Dietitian Covington, LA 70433 St. Tammany 08-05-2007
RN Lacombe, LA 70445 Louisiana Heart Hospital 08-05-2007
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Gulfport, MS 39501 The Times Picayune Employment Ads 08-05-2007
Diabetes Nurse Liaison New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Intake Therapist Various, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Physician New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
Mental Health Tech Various, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Mental Health Tech Various, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Director of Occupational Therapy New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Pool Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Pool Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Pharmacist Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Occupational Therapist New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Certified Nursing Assistant Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
QA Analyst New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Certified Nursing Assistant Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Pharmacist Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Radiologic Technologist New Orleans, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
Clinical Liaison Various, LA Children's Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Pool Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Pool Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Pool Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Radiologic Tech Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
Pharmacist Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Staff RN New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
Surgical Tech New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
Surgical Tech New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Brain Injury Rehab (M6) RN New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
TRANSCRIPTIONIST, RADIOLOGY ADMIN NOM New Orleans, LA Ochsner Clinic Foundation 08-07-2007
Ultrasound Tech Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Surgical Tech New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
Staff RN New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -Coronary Care Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse -Ortho-Neuro/Adult Acute Care Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Registered Nurse -6 South- Med/Surg Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
Advanced Coding Technician Slidell, LA Slidell Memorial Hospital 08-07-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Clinical Dietitian Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Certified Respiratory Tech New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse- Emergency Room Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Registered Nurse- PACU II Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
LPN - Cardiology Clinic - PRN New Orleans, LA Tulane Hospital and Clinic 08-07-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
Flex RN New Orleans, LA Touro Infirmary 08-07-2007
Certified Nursing Assistant Marrero, LA West Jefferson Medical Center 08-07-2007
RN Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007
RRT/CRT Metairie, LA East Jefferson General Hospital 08-06-2007

http://jobs.nola.com/js.php?qField=A...&view=2&page=1

[mteague]

New Orleans Recovery Plan Released
City looks to feasible goals, targeted reinvestment to attract private development



Source: ARCHITECT Magazine
Publication date: 2007-05-01


By Bradford Mckee

Guarded optimism greeted the unveiling in late March of a targeted $1.1 billion redevelopment plan for New Orleans' neighborhoods, more than 18 months after the city flooded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Edward Blakely, the city's head of recovery management, emphasized the inherent limits of the plan, which is intended to be more surgical than sweeping in its scope. The plan focuses on 17 hub sites around the city that are meant to act as magnets for private development by leveraging public money into them. Fifteen of the sites lie in neighborhoods that either were not hit hard by the flood or have begun to rebuild. Together, they are to see $161 million in public investment. But Blakely would direct about $145 million toward sites in two devastated neighborhoods, the Lower Ninth Ward and a section surrounding the Lake Forest Plaza shopping center.

“The scope of it is deceivingly simple,� says architect Allen Eskew, principal of Eskew+Dumez+Ripple in New Orleans. “Blakely himself says he wanted to have some early successes.� Eskew adds that it was crucial for Blakely's list of target sites to seem modest and feasible, given the city's “planning fatigue� and frustration with all levels of government. “I'm very pleased that Dr. Blakely has come out with an action plan instead of a planning plan,� he says.

Among the chosen sites, the plan establishes a triage system for rebuilding destroyed areas, for redeveloping struggling areas such as the area around Gentilly Boulevard and Elysian Fields Avenue, and for renewing areas such as Canal Street downtown that show signs of life returning but could yet benefit from investment.

After Blakely's plan was announced, residents and city officials seemed to be putting stock in its realistic aspirations, particularly after a run of widely criticized plans that were seen as either too restrictive or too extravagant and costly.

“People can start to see where this targeted reinvestment is going to occur,� says Jane S. Brooks, professor and chair of the planning and urban studies department at the University of New Orleans. Brooks attributes the Blakely plan's wider acceptance to the broad public participation that led up to it. “People are ready to understand that this is the first wave of investment,� Brooks adds. “If this works, maybe there will be another wave of investment. There's no miracle here. What he's trying to do is use public money to attract private money� for neighborhood reinvestment.

Not all of the money is in hand, however. The city has about $400 million to put toward the plan. More than half of the other $624 million would hinge on the federal government waiving its rule that state and local governments match 10 percent of federal grants for reconstruction. As of the day of the plan's unveiling, the Bush administration said it has no intention of waiving the matching-funds requirement.

http://www.architectmagazine.com/ind...ticleID=492817