Hurricane Gustav – Blog II

I met Jenny in a medical shelter in Tyler, Texas.  She lives in Beaumont Texas where she had just undergone back surgery.  She was at home beginning her recovery when Hurricane Gustuv, approached the gulf coast.  Like thousands of others Jenny called 211, a telephone service offered in her area, registering for help in case evacuation was necessary. 

For days before the authorities monitored Gustav, and 120 hours from the time the storm was anticipated to hit the shore they opened an emergency “playbook” developed to respond to severe storms.  Nobody knew at that point what the intensity of the storm would be, but with the lapse of each hour decisions needed to be made to avoid allowing time to become the enemy.   

There is a hierarchy of evacuation needs. People like Jenny with complicated medical needs are high on the priority list and require emergency managers to start early.  Somewhere between 48 and 72 hours from land fall, officials made the decision to begin evacuation.

I landed in Texas Monday night just hours after Gustav’s dissipated Category two force winds crossed Louisiana and Texas coast lines. Early Tuesday morning we flew from  Dallas to Tyler Texas.  I wanted to see deployment of our Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and Federal Medical shelters first hand.  That’s when Jenny and I met. 

As Jenny sat in a special chair that held her back in proper position to heal, she told me how rescue workers picked her up and took her to a bus.  The three hour bus ride out of the storm’s reach was uncomfortable she said, but it probably saved her life. 

Secretary Leavitt and Jenny at the medical shelter in Tyler, Texas.

I saw hundreds of patients all of whom had a story to tell.  Many seriously ill before the storm and still struggling but for the most part, deeply grateful for a bed, food and medical attention offered at the two federal medical shelters set up by the state of Texas, operated by local health workers and supplemented by federal equipment, supplies, emergency teams and, of course, money. 

Disaster preparedness is a local and state responsibility and the state of  Texas is good at it.  In Tyler, Dr. Lakey, the head of the State Health Department met me. As the storm approached, state emergency planners determined where the demands were most likely going to be felt.  That’s done by simply asking the question, “If you live in an evacuation area, where are you most likely to go?”  Most of the people I met on Tuesday where from Beaumont, Texas and some from western Louisiana.

Given the nature of this storm, the state chooses to establish medical facilities in Tyler at a county-run community center and a few miles away at Eastern Texas Baptist College. Both the local government and the college responded with great generosity providing facilities and people. 

When the state feels they will not have sufficient capacity to staff and meet the demands of both the local population and the in flowing evacuees, they ask the federal government for help, specifically FEMA.  My Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is then tasked by FEMA to deploy assets we have.  Those activities are managed through the Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and they have become very good at it.

HHS provided two types of assets in this case.  The first is a federal medical shelter.  This is essentially a hospital in a box, more appropriately, a whole bunch of boxes. The federal medical shelter is deployed from one of our national stockpile sites and can be in place within 12 hours.  We also send a component of medical workers to staff the facility. 

The second asset we deploy is a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT).  Most states have at least one DMAT.  These are remarkable people who have volunteered to be deployed with only a few hours notice anywhere they are needed.  These are groups of medical professionals as well as others trained in different aspects of emergency medical needs.  On Monday I saw teams from New York, Florida, New Mexico and Oregon in action.  Within a few hours they establish a facility to treat the most acute patient needs.  It is rather remarkable to watch. 

Nobody likes disaster but I must say, I am always inspired by the generosity and competence people willingly bring.  They work unthinkably hard hours in beastly conditions.  However, there is something about the human spirit that when people are engaged in emergency assistance they are happy and upbeat.  I think there are few things more rewarding than the satisfaction that comes by providing assistance for a person in need.  My mother once said to me, “Mike, we get our self esteem from the people we serve.”  I believe that more than ever. 

Comments

Secretary Leavitt,
Thanks for the incredible service that you have rendered to this country. Your willingness to spend the time to reach out in this way is greatly appreciated and the ability that you have to comprehend large and complex issues and respond to them with robust solutions is amazing.
Dave

Posted by: Dave | September 17, 2008 at 08:49 AM